We've all heard stories about successful companies that got their start by jotting down notes on the back of a napkin.

Take Southwest Airlines for example. The founders were having drinks at a small airport and came up with the crazy idea to connect states and cities with low-cost airfare.The connection patterns were written out and drawn on a napkin. Today, 44 years later, Southwest Airlines serves 29 million passengers and has a $5 billion operating revenue.And it all started on the back of cocktail napkin!Times have certainly changed, although I am sure the cocktail napkin is still involved in many big business decisions.We now have access to more forms on communication than ever imagined; handwritten letters (yes, people still do that), emails, phone calls, computer proposals, face-to-face meetings and electronic messages whether it be LinkedIn, Facebook and even text messaging.The electronic age has brought about many new forms of communication and is guaranteeing almost instant access to big business decisions, thus securing our place ahead of our competition.Some professionals are skeptical about this new way of doing business since it lacks the "in writing" aspect that has carried us through centuries of business meetings and deals.But electronic business certainly has its advantages and allows business decisions to be made at the speed with which we operate.Let's look at email, for example. Imagine you are sitting in a meeting and have an amazing idea that will take your business to the next level, but you need authorization from the boss to invest a few thousand dollars, what happens?The meeting comes to a close with something along the lines of "great ideas, we will meet with the boss and reconvene next week to see if we can proceed."In the meantime, your competition has come up with their own great idea but they sent an email to the boss while in the meeting and got a response on the spot.They have moved forward and are now on the next level before you've even pitched the idea.Another example is that just last week I attempted to connect with a chamber member by phone.He works another job in addition to the business that he runs, and we kept missing each other. Tim sent me a text message and in a matter of 10 minutes we worked out all of the details we had been trying to connect on for a few days.Had Tim not sent me that message we both could have missed out on a great opportunity.These are just two examples of how using all of the tools at our disposal to connect with management, fellow business professionals and potential clients is essential to surviving among competition and any economic condition. Email and text messaging allows for instantaneous responses and can help you get ahead.The Carbon Chamber and Economic Development office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. If you are unable to connect during those hours, please call or text me at 484-274-2080. You can also email me anytime at

alicew@carboncountychamber.org.