The Value of Networking

The Value of networking

Networking does play a crucial role in your career development and success. You may or may not have commenced your journey to working with passion. You may or may not be happy with your current situation; however, there’s always room for growth. Regardless of what stage in the journey you are in, networking is essential if you want to get ahead.

Surround yourself with like-minded successful people

Networking is a fancy way of saying, being involved with like-minded professionals who may be in your industry, or in an industry or market segment that you aspire to join. It can be a lonely journey when all you have is yourself and your dreams. It is great to learn from others how they came to carve out a life of passion for what they do to make their living.

As we have mentioned in an earlier blog, it is important to surround yourself with the right people, people who will support your dream. Well, networking is an extension of that type of behaviour. Humans are by definition social species. Nevertheless, we usually feel most comfortable associating with people who we know through common pursuits such as sporting clubs, work, or parents’ groups to name a few.

If we go to normal social events and don’t attempt to meet new people, we may never learn that we just missed an opportunity to mingle with people who either can help us improve our professional life, or maybe even meet potential clients.

Networking can be summed up as any activity that blends a social interaction with a business function. Each time you hand out a business card, send a supplier an email or IM or participate in an online discussion about an entrepreneur’s latest book, you are networking.

But where do I go?

There are formal ‘networking events’ advertised all the time. People who use them understand their value and attending formal business lunches or social drinks can be a great place to informally share ideas, get feedback on whether your service or product may have a market in the location where you live or work.

The energy in the room of passionate individuals talking about their unique businesses is attractive and energising. The best case scenario is that you attend, and leave with a bunch of business cards
If you sign up for social media networking sites such as LinkedIn, you can see that people from your past may know people that you’d like to get to know.

Being invited to a formal business incubator mixer does constitute a great opportunity as well, because it may open the doors for further opportunities for your professional development. You should go along, and even the first time, you may feel a bit intimidated and shy, then that’s ok. It’s perfectly fine to be a great active listener. When you are listening to someone share their passion, it becomes infectious. You may offer some supporting words of encouragement, and before you know it, you are starting to talk about your passion and what you are working towards.

However, the beauty of networking is that you don’t have to restrict it to formal events. Learn to be comfortable talking to strangers and you will have jumped through the most challenging aspect of networking. Remember, a stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet.

Networking examples

This is not an exhaustive list however you can start to imagine these scenarios:

You drop off your kids at daycare and see the same three parents at the same time. Day after day, if you make some pleasant conversation, you develop a rapport with them. Over time, you find out that one of them is a freelance graphic artist. You are also a graphic artist, but you never could work out how to make your art your living. You are drawn to her and she shares with you some of their work. You mention that you would like to become a freelance graphic artist. It just so happens that she has too much work for a particular project to handle and she asks if you may be interested in helping out. Bam! Networking slam dunk!

You are the ‘plus 1’ at a wedding. You barely know anyone and your partner is in the thick of it catching up with family and friends. You notice another plus 1 in the same dilemma. You make some comment, and a conversation starts up. It turns out that this other person is related to an elite soccer player who has injured himself. Turns out that you are an aspiring remedial masseur and you give your new acquaintance your business card. You get a phone call the very next day and your massage really assists the soccer player who then recommends you to his teammates. Your reputation and your business are now in full gear!

Networking is an effective and pleasant way to promote your business, find opportunities and liaise with people who can help build your business. While social media has its place, and is a form of networking, the trust we feel when we share a smile over a coffee is something that has a lot of power. Give it a try and discuss opportunities, and maybe even practise your conversation starters with your coach.