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Is Networking For Me?
Networking is about building relationships, usually through personal contact. It's a learned skill. Some people seem to be 'naturals' at networking, some need to work hard to succeed, and most of us fall somewhere in between. In any case, part of the process of networking is learning how others do it, and most of us do that through networking as well!
If you've ever stood in line and started talking with someone about the weather, the teller, the long line, or your job, you've networked. In that case the sole purpose might have been to pass time, but even so it is a form of networking. People network for a variety of reasons; here are a few: to entertain themselves, make friends, help others, grow a business, increase knowledge, or to serve a community.
Minnesota Networking is about business networking, with the primary goal being to help you grow your business. You will almost certainly make friends and increase your knowledge along the way, and you'll probably also entertain yourself, help others, and serve several communities of people too, but in this case you can look at those as benefits, rather than the core reason.
There are lots of ways to network, from your standing in line opportunity to formal and informal networking organizations, to networking events. A good networker not only sees opportunities, he or she creates them, and many people live them. To paraphrase a good friend - everyone is a 24-hour commercial.
The point of all these ways to network is to engage people in conversation, to listen, to learn, to learn to trust them and in turn become trusted. Networking is not about the fastest hunter or the hit-and-run artist. It is about slowly but surely growing and nurturing a relationship that both parties benefit from.
Members of one networking organization, Business Network International (BNI), like to say that it's not about hunting; it's about farming.
Minnesota Networking is about finding places to plant your seeds so that your business can help support a new ecology of business, one based on co-opetition, not competition.
Best of all, the cost to network is a few minutes of your time and one of your business cards, and sometimes you don't even need the business card!
If this sounds like something you'd like to try, there are plenty of business networking organizations and events taking place across Minnesota, so look one up and check it out!
Back to MORE Networking Articles
* There are many successful networking organizations in Minnesota. Please visit our Organizations page to learn more!
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