If you want to go fast,
go alone if you want to go far, go together. This is a very literal way to
explain networking. In the world of today, there is hardly really a career or
business that can be built by someone independently. Networking is crucial,
either in a business career or other aspects of life. Having the knowledge of
proper networking is a skill that is beneficial for every career. Your contacts
are your helping hands and it is important to know that every contact is
valuable and important and should be treated with the respect. When setting up
a new business, the type of people you meet, the contacts you gather, the help
you can get and even that informal person somewhere that helped with something
trivial are your entire network. Easy ways to have a strong viable network
includes:
CONTINUOUSLY GROWING
YOUR NETWORK: stay conscious of the fact that for you to build your career or
run a profitable business successfully, you have to keep growing your network.
Keep making contacts and building a list of people that can make your daily
activities more efficiently and less intimidating.
BUILD A RELATIONSHIP
WITH YOUR NETWORK: you have to know that building a network and having a huge
number of contacts is never enough, you need to take time to build a
relationship with your network. Know who they are, what they represent and how
to deal with them.
SHOWCASE YOURSELF TO
YOUR NETWORK: growing your network and figuring out what most of them represent
isn’t enough if you cannot impact on your network and be a strong part of the
system. Become a subject matter, showcase and emphasize what you do and what
they can benefit from you too. Build something for yourself and make yourself
valuable to be networked with.
BENEFIT FROM YOUR
NETWORK: after putting all tips in place, be sure to benefit from your contact,
be certain they can patronise you and put money in your pocket. A network
cannot be considered an efficient one till you can generate income from them
and their referrals.
In the world of today,
right networking and referrals is enough to make you what you need in the first
years of start up. Treat your network right and know that every contact and
every referral is important.