Less than three months after I was hired to man a cubicle for the first time in my life, I heard people throughout the office weeping openly. I’m in my mid 40s, so the fact that this was my first grunt job is a bit strange. The truth is, I have been self employed most of my life, and I was ill prepared for the “The Office.” Not the kind like those funny guys on TV, but the usual, cubicle-laden type office.
Finally, take responsibility for your actions and don’t expect it to happen overnight. All good things take time so just because you don’t see the results immediately don’t get disheartened and don’t blame others.
Email is another relationship building platform. Many gurus have beautifully branded emails. Others are just plain good reading without any branding logo. Yet, both have a feel and look to them. And, their personality shows through their branding efforts and communications to you. They are using marketing and networking phoenix that they found successful. Check these out and learn.
With benefit we often find risk, and the risks are many when it comes to starting your own networking group. You may not succeed and those you attempt to bring into a group will be disappointed. This may lead to fewer leads and referrals. You may alienate a friend or networking partner if you do not invite them to your new group. There may be power struggles and difficulty moving the group to action from time to time. And if you choose to charge a fee to be apart of the group you will have the headache of maintaining the books for a new business venture that will make little if any money for some time to come. If you don’t charge a fee you may find it harder to get participants to take the group seriously.
Quality: Make sure you go through all your content to check and see if it is of good quality, before posting it on your profile and in your networking interactions.
Can they get professional grade packages set up in your home? You may be at the point where personal satellite internet packages are no longer going to fit the bill for you. In this case, you’ll need some type of service that could be called professional grade. Ask about the software defined networking on the table, so you can have multiple computers going at the same time without having your bandwidth entirely sapped by one machine.
The weeping I was hearing was coming from one of the vice presidents, one of the first people I connected with in the business. He, along with about 40 others had been laid off without warning. The feeling throughout the office was sickening, like a death pall. Two people from each department were let go. It was part of a “merger” we were told.
Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in networking groups or meetings. You should join groups that will help you find what you’re looking for. There are several types of meetings. Be careful when making your selections because some are learning based or volunteer driven as opposed to being focused directly on making business connections.
My intentions with all these truths is definitely not to discourage you from starting your own business, but to prepare you for the truth of what lies ahead. Success will not come easily or quickly. It is a long, hard, frustrating journey to success. But, if you want it bad enough and possess the qualities needed to finish the journey, success can be yours!!
When you learn networking is not about sell, sell, sell and me, me, me, you will soon find more people are attracted to you and what you have to offer.