Christopher Klosowski is the President of Easy Digital Downloads, a leading platform that makes selling digital products a breeze.
Starting your entrepreneurial journey isn’t easy. You may come across a number of obstacles, and overcoming them may be daunting.
You may need help along the way, be it in the form of expert counsel or an investment to fuel your business operations. Hence, you need to be in touch with the right people when getting started as an entrepreneur.
They can help you refine your skills, understand market dynamics, identify new opportunities, and raise an investment for your venture.
They may also act as your mentors and guide you throughout your journey, inspiring you to keep pushing forward even when the odds stack against you.
The following are a few useful strategies that you may consider to grow your network as an aspiring entrepreneur:
1. Ask Your Friends
A common mistake many aspiring entrepreneurs make is not asking their friends or family for help.
Keeping your personal and professional lives apart is a good thing. However, there’s nothing wrong with leveraging your social circle to grow your contacts.
Your friends or family have connections. So they can introduce you to the right people who may help you start your business from the ground up.
Friends that you’re no longer in touch with may have become successful businessmen or respected professionals in their respective fields. One of your distant relatives may be a successful serial entrepreneur.
People in your social circle may have a deep understanding of a niche you want to target. So, you can’t scratch out the possibility of finding the help that you need from within your social circle.
2. Attend Relevant Events
You can grow your network and interact with the right people by attending seminars, workshops, symposiums, webinars, and other relevant industry events.
No matter which industry you represent, events are a common occurrence. Some of them require an on-site presence, whereas others call for virtual participation.
Attending such events presents you with an amazing opportunity to connect with investors, partners, and industry experts.
You also get to interact with other aspiring entrepreneurs and know about the challenges they’re facing.
Industry events enable you to grow your network and learn from the experiences of others. Not only do you get to meet the right people, but you also increase your knowledge by listening to the speakers.
3. Build Your Personal Brand
Building your personal brand helps you grow your connections and explore new opportunities for your business effortlessly.
When you have successfully built some level of authority in your respective industry, people you want to interact with will likely reach out to you rather than you trying to contact them.
Remember, personal branding is different than creating a buzz around your business. Let’s say John Smith owns a particular company. The brand-building initiatives will educate the intended audience about what John Smith has to offer, not the company that he owns.
Nowadays, the best way to build your personal brand is to have an online presence. So, you should have an active website where you publish content that offers value.
You can use the platform to showcase your expertise and share your thoughts with your target audience.
Relevant social media platforms help you cast a wider net and convey your message to the masses.
4. Leverage Groups or Communities
Participating in relevant communities or groups online is another useful strategy to grow your network.
You can join relevant social media groups or forums online to get in touch with professionals in your industry and interact with people who can help you grow.
The goal here is to participate in relevant discussions, help others with your skills, and get noticed by the members.
You can also inquire about the problems that you’re facing at the moment and ask others to help you devise viable solutions.
Community participation can help you build new contacts and discover ways to overcome the challenges you face.
5. Reach Out
If you think a professional can help you start or grow your business, don’t shy away from reaching out to them.
Whether you seek mentorship, funding for your business, or a collaboration, be straightforward and present your proposal. However, there’s a systematic way of doing this.
You can reach out to professionals in your respective industry by leveraging social media platforms like LinkedIn. However, if you want to keep things a bit more formal, sending them an email may be a viable approach.
Introduce yourself and tell them the reason you decided to contact them. Give them time to respond, as they may receive a ton of messages similar to yours on a daily basis. Building new connections takes time. So, just be patient. Flooding their inbox would do more harm than good.
The key to success here is to make a lasting first impression and show that you have something to bring to the table as well.
6. Consider Coworking
Thanks to technological advancements, you no longer need to have a physical presence to start a new business.
You can manage your operations from home with minimum equipment and a stable internet connection. The only downside is that it deprives you of the opportunity to meet new people and grow your connections.
If you have been operating your business from home, moving your operations to a coworking space may serve as a viable networking strategy.
You can interact with like-minded people at a coworking space and connect with professionals representing diverse industries.
It paves the way for you to explore new opportunities and build new relationships that can help you scale your operations.
Final Words
There you have it: the six useful tips for aspiring entrepreneurs to grow their network. If you’ve been struggling to build new connections and get in touch with the right people, the recommendations in this article may help.