As an entrepreneur you must have attended countless business meetups, conventions, expositions, conferences etc. You may have even hosted a few of them. What is the most common scenario you have witnessed at most of these events? It is usually groups of attendees milling around the most influential people in the room and hanging on their every word, isn’t it? The reason people do this is to develop the right connections which will be beneficial for them and their business.
While it is good to network and make connections it shouldn’t be only about connecting with influential people. For you, these events should be about meeting different kinds of people and creating a genuine connect with them, which may or may not translate into business opportunities. It should be more about the other person and creating opportunities for them rather than for yourself.
Creating Opportunities:
When having conversations with people, listen attentively to their business growth stories, successes and concerns. As an entrepreneur there could be numerous issues they are concerned about like finding the right employee to spearhead an important department, finding a reliable supplier for an essential component, looking to partner up with someone for an important project, needing an investor etc.
If you realise that you are in a position to help out regarding any such concern then don’t hesitate, go ahead and offer to help. You may happen to know just the person who will tick all the right boxes and be the perfect solution. In that case waste no time in making an introduction, be the one who facilitates what could go on to become a successful collaboration. You may not reap any benefit from this collaboration, but the one thing you will definitely get is a sense of satisfaction for having selflessly helped two individuals achieve their goals. By taking such initiatives you will in every sense become an opportunity creator.
This is the real networking mantra, creating opportunities for people around you. Now you may wonder at how you will be able to grow your business by just helping others succeed in their own. Well, that is the very purpose of this new role, giving back to the business community. The famous St. Francis of Assisi quote ‘For it is in giving that we receive’, holds so true in this context, for it is when the business community around you grows and prospers that you will be able to truly prosper.
