Networking

What comes to mind when you think of networking — cocktail parties? Shaking hands and exchanging business cards at a Chamber of Commerce events? Endless lines of people anxious to make you a customer? Sweaty palms and panic?

Networking is not about how many business cards you can collect — it’s about building a long-term and mutually beneficial RELATIONSHIP with another business person. And it doesn’t have to be painful or forced! When you do it the right way — networking is as natural as starting up a casual conversation. Let me show you how…

THE SCENE: MY CHIROPRACTOR’S OFFICE

So I’m reading a magazine in the waiting room at my chiropractor’s office — I’m exceptionally early for an appointment. Another patient walks in — a woman named Susan that I’ve seen there several times before but never spoken to. She sits down and smiles, and we strike up a non-business conversation. We talk a little about chiropractic, traffic (always a popular topic in Atlanta!), and I eventually ask what she does for a living. It turns out that Susan is a personal coach. I tell her that I’m a Professional Organizer and we spend the rest of my waiting time comparing our experiences with clients.

The important point to note here is that our business relationship is starting out as a personal one — just like any other casual acquaintance. You already know how to do this with people — you start up informal conversations every day of your life. But the minute you attach the term “network” to your actions, you also attach a boatload of pre-conceptions and EXPECTATIONS. Don’t think about where this relationship will lead 5 years down the road — just be friendly and interested.

MAKING THE CONNECTION

As the receptionist calls my name for my appointment, I ask Susan for some of her business cards. I tell her that many of my clients are in need of longer term help with their goals than I’m able to give — and would she mind if I referred folks to her when a need arises. It’s highly unlikely that Susan will turn me down, unless she is just overwhelmed with clients. She graciously accepts my offer, and makes the same in return. We exchange business cards and part ways.

Notice that I did not say to Susan, “Send me your clients who need to get better organized.” Instead, I offered to do something for her. Networking isn’t about what you can get, it’s about what you have to give. If you don’t have a referral for that person, suggest an interesting book or article and offer to call or e-mail with the information. Or offer to hook the person up with another professional you know who might also be a good gateopener. But don’t expect anything in return — the minute you think, “What’s in it for me?” you kill the relationship.

KNOW YOUR NETWORK

I got back to my office later that day and called around to a few other friends I knew who either were coaches or had worked with coaches. Susan’s name came up several times, and everyone I spoke to sung her praises. This is important to me — I don’t want to ruin my reputation by referring my clients to someone who provides poor customer service. Be sure to check on the people in your network before sending your clients their way. naive networking can be worse than no networking at all!

FOLLOW THROUGH

I sent Susan a quick note that afternoon telling her how nice it was to talk to her. I also included referrals for two clients who had been looking for a good personal coach. It’s important that you follow-up quickly when you make a new acquaintance. You will really stand out as a conscientious individual if you do what you say you will do when you say you will do it (isn’t it sad that it’s not the norm?!) They say that you never have a second chance to make a first impression, but that’s not always true. Sometimes, the impression that sticks with a person is the one that comes after your follow-up note or call.

BUILDING THE RELATIONSHIP

It’s not required that you refer clients to every networking contact you have. Whether I send any work Susan’s way or not, I’ve laid the foundation for a long and prosperous relationship. I keep in touch with Susan by clipping articles that might interest her, letting her know of business functions that she may want to attend, and getting together for coffee every once in awhile. She thinks fondly of me because I go out of my way for her. And it has paid off handsomely.

In the year and a half that we have known each other, Susan has sent me 4 new clients, hooked me up with at least a dozen great gateopeners, and given me countless suggestions for growing and expanding my business. Each new person with whom you strike up a conversation has the potential of doubling or tripling your network over time. That’s what casual networking is all about.

Ramona Creel is a Professional Organizer and the founder of OnlineOrganizing.com — a web-based one-stop shop offering everything that you need to get organized at home or at work. At OnlineOrganizing.com, you may get a referral to an organizer near you, shop for the latest organizing products, get tons of free tips, and even learn how to become a professional organizer or build your existing organizing business. And if you would like to read more articles about organizing your life or building your business, get a free subscription to the “Get Organized” and “Organized For A Living” newsletters. Please visit http://www.OnlineOrganizing.com or contact Ramona directly at ramona@onlineorganizing.com for more information.

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Many start ups require a founding team. It is practically impossible for one person to have a broad enough skill set to start a successful new venture. I am a huge proponent of teams. I am a strong believer in the fact that no person is an island and that it is much better to have a smaller piece of a bigger pie than a large piece of a much smaller pie.

So who do you need on your team? Where do you find them? What values and characteristics are most important when forging your team?

Who do you need on your team?

First thing you need to do is objectively look at yourself and your own skills and abilities and compare that to what you need to start this venture to see where the gaps are. Are you a good sales person? Organizer? Accounting & Finance? Marketing? Researcher? Writer? Speaker? These are just some of the fundamental areas you will most likely need while planning and launching your new venture. It is hard to critically analyze your own skills and abilities so you may need a third party to help you, there are also tests online that evaluate what type of entrepreneur you are and what other types of entrepreneurs you need to add to your team (check out http://www.peoplethatclick.com/).

There may also be specific technical roles you need to fill on your team (such as software engineer, website designer, etc.). You need to make the decision in the beginning whether these key roles will be paid positions or are they so critical to your venture’s success that you should be making them a partner.

Where do you find them?

This is possibly the hardest question, where do you find good partners? Well the internet has helped make this a lot more feasible to reach a larger geographic area. Not all of us are fortunate enough to be in entrepreneurial hubs like Route 128 or Silicon Valley (or the top entrepreneurship college for that matter) so you need to keep that in mind while you are searching for your team. Also, keep in mind that friends and relatives may seem willing and able at first to be a part of your new venture, but, I highly recommend that these are the people you are most critical of in adding to your team. Many friendships and family relationships have been torn apart by new ventures that began to turn sour as one person began to not pull their fair share of the weight (which is bound to happen in almost all scenarios).

Networking is crucial, keeping a good contact management system (as simple as collecting business cards from people you meet and writing a short summary of who they are on the back) so you know who people are and what they are interested in. Attend events and forums as well as chamber of commerce events, take a class on entrepreneurship at a local college and network with your classmates, post a classified ad, getting yourself out there is perhaps the most important thing of all! Countless potential entrepreneurs are so afraid of people stealing their idea that they do not tell anyone and their venture never goes beyond a concept. Tell as many people as are willing to listen to you! You never know who knows that certain someone that will become your ideal new business partner and help make your vision a reality.

There are some great key resources for building a team online. A quick search on Yahoo! for forums relating to entrepreneurship or small business will get you started in the right direction in terms of networking with folks online. A free classified ad on Craigslist will begin to generate potential partners if you know specifically what you are looking for and can post an effective ad. If your partners are not located locally your start up can still be successful, services such as Skype (free voice telephony & conferencing), instant messenger, or email help make the world a much smaller place and can provide effective means of communication and file exchange. In fact, some new ventures find they are more effective with their time by utilizing these communication methods as opposed to sitting in the same room together with their partners from 9-5.

What values and characteristics are most important when forging your team?

If I was a venture capitalist the stock answer would be that they attended an Ivy League school, have either an MBA or engineering degree, and have launched at least one highly successful new venture. However, seeing as how for most of us finding someone with those qualifications is not an option in the start up phase I am going to throw out that list of criteria completely. You need someone with integrity, with knowledge and experience in the functional areas that you are most lacking, with drive and the entrepreneurial hunger, someone you can work well with but who will challenge you, and most importantly someone that agrees with your gut. On this area you never want to go against your gut feeling, our subliminal mind picks up things we may not at first and hence the “gut feeling” is often right on the mark in this area.

If something inside you tells you this person may not be the right partner, do not let them be a part of your new venture. Countless people make this mistake (including myself), always go with your gut instincts on this issue. On a side note, do not be swayed by individuals who approach you bragging about their immense personal network of connections and how they can contact numerous individuals who will greatly help your venture. Contacts in many instances are nothing more than a business card or a friend of a friend of a friend; while in some cases they may pull through, do not put as much faith in other individual’s “contacts” as they would lead you to believejust a lesson learned through personal experiences multiple times.

Dan Marques is a young entrepreneur who is involved in multiple start-ups as a founder, investor, and consultant.

He writes daily about entrepreneurship on his blog http://startupguide.typepad.com

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