07/ 11/ 2007
by Vicki Gerson
No matter what your business is—retail, wholesale, service or Web-based—it pays to develop a networking plan to increase your contacts and, ultimately, your business.
Simply defined, networking is making connections. For your small business, this may involve making connections with family members, friends, friends of friends, colleagues, the pet groomer and even your doctor, accountant or lawyer, each of whom is familiar with your business. These people can help you solve problems, provide suggestions for decisions, assess transferable skills, track down job leads, sharpen your resume and even act out interviews. Many of them can even provide emotional support. Perhaps you're looking for a graphic designer for a new brochure. If there's not a designer in your current networking circle, perhaps one of the folks you know has a great designer in their circle.
Remember the shampoo commercial in the 1980s where the blonde who loved the new shampoo told two friends, and they told two friends, and their friends told two friends? That was networking at its best.
If you'd like to cast your net of contacts a little wider, here are some of the basic steps to consider in your networking plan.
Make a list
Sit down at your computer or grab a pencil and paper to create a networking list of at least 50 people you believe are important for networking purposes: past employers or managers, former and current co-workers, former college and high-school teachers (depending upon your age), people at your church or temple, including the clergy, past and current neighbors, friends and relatives. In addition, don't forget to consider your career college center, former classmates from high school and college, trade unions, if applicable, professional organizations and current business networking group members.
Prioritize this list
Now that you have the names of 50 people or more, prioritize them after you establish your criteria. Criteria could include the following: seems to know everyone, aware of the current job market, likes helping people, has been my mentor for years, owns a small business, knows my skills and strengths extremely well, will be proactive for me, etc.
Establish a goal
So, what are you hoping to accomplish? It's important to create a plan with a timetable. Perhaps you need to establish a relationship with an accountant by the year's end. Sure, you could search on the Internet or dust off your Yellow Pages book. But you might consider getting the search for an account started by contacting your networking list. Ask those folks who they know or recommend. The people on your networking contact list can also probably offer advice on what to look for in an accountant, what to avoid and a range of service prices to expect.
As you begin thinking of networking, you may feel like you don't know enough people or aren't connected enough to your community to have a robust networking list. But when you think of two friends and add them to your networking list—and each of them can suggest two friends and their friends can suggest two friends—your contact list will soon be dynamic and full of folks who can offer help and advice of all kinds.
