When it comes to living a successful live your network is really important. Maybe you have come across the quote “Your network is your net worth” or “You are the average of the five people who surround yourself with” with before and realised that you need to improve your network. Well in this post I will be sharing 4 ways that you can actively start improving your network.
1 – GO TO EVENTS
One of the best ways to improve your network is to get out into the world and meet new people. It is this very idea that resulted in networking events being created. However, not all networking events are created equal. You don’t want to go to networking events where everyone is walking around passing business cards and trying to sell to you. Instead, you want to choose events based on the type of network you are trying to build. Once you have got clear on the holes in your network you can look for events on places such as Eventbrite and Meetup and get yourself out there.
And if you live in London don’t forget you can come and join PropelHer’s Book Club. It is a great place to connect with other ambitious women.
2 – CONNECT WITH PEOPLE ONLINE
Nowadays there are so many ways you can connect with people online. Again it is all about identifying the types of people you want in your network and then searching for them. The joy with online is that “searching” for those people is much easier. A great place to start with is Facebook Groups and if you aren’t already a member of the PropelHer Facebook Group come join us.
For example, a few years ago I didn’t know hardly any female entrepreneurs so I actively joined Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups for female entrepreneurs. I would engage in conversations and go the extra mile to contact people directly. This has resulted in me now knowing a number of female entrepreneurs who I am close to and can call on for advice and support. A major part of my success I believe is because I have gone the extra step and taken an originally online connection offline. Wherever possible try to meet people in person and make that connection even stronger.
3 – ASK YOUR CURRENT NETWORK TO CONNECT YOU WITH PEOPLE
Maybe you know exactly the type of people you would like in your network. If so why not ask you current network to connect you to people. This is where LinkedIn can be amazing. If there are people you know you would like to get in touch with check out their LinkedIn profile and see if there is anyone you know who can put you in touch with them. Or if you don’t have a specific person in mind but just looking for x don’t feel ashamed to send a message to a few people saying you are looking for x and do they know anyone they could put you in touch with.
4- DEEPEN THE RELATIONSHIP YOU HAVE WITH PEOPLE YOU ALREADY KNOW
When it comes to growing a network, the obvious thing is to focus on bringing new people into your life and that is what has been discussed so far. However, one thing that is often overlooked is deepening the relationship of people you already have in your network. There are different levels of a relationship and maybe there are people in your life that you should try to deepen your relationship with. Maybe you have a professional acquaintance who you would like to spend more time with. Reach out and ask them if they would like to meet up to do X. I always find having an event to invite someone to is a great way of starting to build on a currently professional relationship that you would like to have on a more personal basis.
