I wanted to share a great LinkedIn post from my friend David J.P. Fisher. He is my go-to guy for all things networking, so you may remember him from previous posts.
Networking is something that we all know we need to do, but time for networking often gets set aside because of seemingly more important priorities.
This is a mistake.
Fisher says there are two times you need to network: when you need help and when you don’t need help.
Sure, you might (and probably should) reach out to your network if you need to hire an employee or contractor, or need a technology recommendation. Most people would feel comfortable doing that.
Another time you should, but might hesitate to reach out, is when you are struggling with some issue and need to vent or get some advice. Asking for help is hard for a lot of people. As an entrepreneur, having other entrepreneurs in your network can be a sanity saver. I recommend actively maintaining relationships with other business owners.
When things are going well, or when you are really busy, you might not think of networking, but you need to do some then as well. Think of it as nurturing your network, which you will need to call upon at some point, and it will be much less awkward if you have connected with someone recently.
I like to think of this as a deposit in the karma bank.
Listen to a frustrated colleague. Offer advice to someone struggling. Buy someone a coffee or cocktail and get to know them better. It doesn’t have to be a big time commitment – you just need to network consistently.
I highly recommend watching Fisher’s short video below.
