New Jersey Enterpreneur - Small Business, Entrepreneurs and Venture Capital

Business Networking has been practiced for a very long time. The Rotary Clubs and Lion's Clubs are examples of popular networking organizations in the 1950's and 1960's. However recently, especially over the past few years, it has become a buzz word for small, midsize and large companies alike

NYU has recently had an advertising campaign with a message to future graduates, stating that alumni from NYU will have a network for life. The colleges and universities understand how competitive business has become and the important role of networking for their students and future business professionals to be competitive.

It is also important to note that many people do not understand what networking is. Since business owners and sales people alike feel the pressure to bring in sales, they constantly focus on selling. . Networking is not about selling.

Here is a good analogy that will explain what networking is and how it should be used in order to be an effective networker. To be effective, networking must be viewed as a farm. The people that you meet through networking are vegetables growing on your farm. You are the farmer and your job is to bring in a good crop. If you try and pick your vegetables too early you will have raw vegetables that are useless. This is similar to what many people do when they attend networking meetings. Just as the farmer wouldn't pick their vegetables before they have ripened you should not be selling your services to people who don't know you. And, if you don't give your crop food and water your crop will not grow. Similarly if you do not feed the people that you want to network with introductions and potential leads for business they will not reciprocate. So, if you invest the time to get to know the people and find out how you can help them with their business (maybe even personal lives), they will likely be grateful and return the favor, if they can. Besides why wouldn't you help people if you could. It doesn't cost much to pick up the phone or email a person that they should speak with someone that may be helpful to their business.

Networking is very rewarding in more ways than one. Through networking if you stay active with people and help them you will get to know them well and be able to help your other relationships with the contacts that you have developed. What also will happen is that when people get to know that you have a resource of great contacts they will come back to you when they need other things. It builds on itself. For you personally this is fantastic because with all the relationships that you have developed, you will also be able to better run your own business or household by using people that you know and trust.

The reward of giving is better than getting may seem hokey. Let me tell you that it is not. The happiest people in the world are not the biggest executives with stress. It is the people that give to charities, volunteer their time with those less fortunate. Giving is a reward that can only be understood when you practice it.