Networking

Networking is really important for business development & business growth. Networking can often be difficult for smaller businesses, as their presence can go unnoticed in a world of corporate giants and the thought of visiting giant trade shows can be daunting. But, for me networking is much more than this, it can line up future growth & can develop your knowledge of how to better market your products. Networking, first begins with a common ground & fortunately for the entrepreneur, that common ground has already been found by way of passion. All businesses want to succeed, all businesses want to grow & all businesses want opportunities to offer their services to more & more businesses or consumers, so even if you're contact doesn't go so smoothly with a business upon first contact, both parties have gained a contact from the interaction.

Whether you're selling socks, candles, flowers or online services, networking can give you insights into how to sell your products, but not only that, it can also give you new leads or new ideas that can follow onto more opportunities.

Let's look at the most common type of networking events, trade shows. Trade shows are the very best way to showcase your new product, but as a start point for those who are worried about how to display their product at a show, a trade show can be a great place to learn new techniques to do so & also give creative insights, don't see it as stealing an idea, but you can take a view on how others are doing things & perhaps improve in your own way.

An example, Fashion shows - you will always have huge sponsors at trade shows, which are most usually the famous established brands. If you're struggling for ways to understand how to most effectively market your product, learn from the best. I'm not suggesting you will be able to put a banner the size of the exhibition hall up for the world to see, because this may be unrealistic within your budget, but looking at how the famous companies present their product can go a long way into developing strategies for yourself. Even if you have no ambition to purchase anything at the trade show you have selected, or if you have no idea where to begin, recognising other businesses for their strategy & giving them praise by way of feedback can sometimes open the door for conversation & to opportunities that you didn't think was possible. Businesses employ business development teams, who are always looking for new exciting ways to develop their outlook and your feedback could just be the opening you were looking for & give you contacts that you never had before - and if all else fails, you'd have walked away with lessons on how not to do things.

We have other kinds of networking events, perhaps more relevant to your business - all you need to do nowadays is search for it online. fsb.org.uk is another great site for finding networking events & online virtual networking events. FSB is the Federation of Small Businesses & they can offer lots of advice & support on how to expand on your current business outlook.

Sometimes networking can be more intimate & can involve meeting in informal settings just having a discussion about your new idea. New ideas aren't something all businesses are looking to steal from you, a lot would rather subcontract smaller segments out to other businesses who are more focused in that principle, you have to open up sometimes to build trust & develop ways of collaboration to get your idea off the ground & expand your business.

Networking is used by professionals to build contacts & acquaintances lets say. It works both ways, so although you may not use all of the contacts you have built up, when the need arises, it can often be complimentary to another that you remembered who they are & what they do. In business its always important to have contacts lined up for your future plans, this can save so much time when it comes to launching your new idea or getting your product to market.

There are plenty of online tools for networking with professional individuals & also to share your skills - sites like LinkedIn are brilliant for it. LinkedIn can help you find new website designers & content writers, lawyers, financial advisers and much more - its network reach is global so you're not just limited to the country you are originated in too, if you're ever thinking of branching out abroad.

Get out there and meet people, because people aren't just going to come looking for you!

Next year, I have an idea to build on a business shower & birthday party idea. Kind of like a 'baby shower' thing. People celebrate the birth of their upcoming baby, so why don't we share the same love for our new businesses, at the end of the day, for the entrepreneur who wants to get their dream started, that is their baby. It would be great for businesses who are just starting out to get the support of their friends & family & my aim is to bring people together who can help one another expand & share ideas with each other on how to better their businesses. The main hope is that it links people on a more personal level to be able to benefit from the different business backgrounds I hope to get onboard. Lets say legal personnel for things like Ts&C or contracts, finance advisers, web developers, branding experts, marketing/social media experts and many more. And to further this, business birthday parties. I know from bitter experience the difficulties and challenges that can be faced in the years of building a business, so my idea is to host my own business birthday parties, to celebrate that we have achieved over another year in business. I think Christmas parties are good, but they are usually only on employee level, I'm confident the idea of inviting employees, colleagues, associates & families from all would be great for the businesses I hope to sell the idea to. I want to help others to learn how to celebrate their achievements in business & build a network of individuals who are proud of what they do & want to help others to be proud of their 'baby' too & grew their 'baby' grow & mature :) Business birthdays :) & for any individual who is reading this & uses that idea, I salute you. As business owners in a community, we should help each other grow & celebrate the achievements of one another to give prosperity to others. But I also think it will be a great idea to help new & existing businesses develop their skills, confidence and contact base. I've always had a passion for helping people, hence why I started this blog & my goal by the end of 2021 is to build a community support network for any businesses within my region and hopefully expand it in years to come.