You have probably heard the saying “It’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know”. But why is networking so important?
Today we are going to discuss the role it plays in business success. We will also share practical advice on how to build your network when you are starting from scratch!
What is Networking?
The word “networking” has a negative connotation because it has come to be associated with a transactional view of relationships, a lack of substance, and a salesy vibe.
And some people really do approach it that way, perhaps not realizing how off-putting their blatant social climbing is. However, just because these cringe “networkers” exist doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t invest in building social capital.
Fortunately, you can do it by simply being proactive about connecting with people whom you genuinely find interesting. That’s what we are going to focus on in this article!
5 Reasons Why Business Networking is So Important
#1: Business Networking Can Help You Find Co-Founders
Some people are lone wolves who are at their best when they work alone. And there’s nothing wrong with that!
However, if your entrepreneurial ambitions extend beyond building a lucrative lifestyle business, you’ll probably need a co-founder or two.
In fact, Y Combinator, the most prestigious startup accelerator in the world that has funded over 4,500 startups, found that companies with 2-3 co-founders have the best shot at success.
Business networking can help you connect with intelligent, ambitious, and trustworthy people who would make great co-founders!
#2: Business Networking Can Help You Find Mentors
Building a business isn’t easy, especially as a first-time founder.
Sure, there are a ton of resources out there that can teach you the basics, but ultimately, every situation is unique so there are no cookie-cutter solutions.
However, if your network includes serial entrepreneurs who have built multiple successful businesses, they might be able to give you actionable advice based on your particular circumstances.
We cannot emphasize enough how valuable such guidance can be!
#3: Business Networking Can Help You Find Investors
We are big advocates of bootstrapping. In our view, you should only seek funding if you won’t be able to achieve your business goals without it.
That being said, if you ever decide to raise capital, you’ll have a much easier time if your network includes investors.
In fact, even second and third-order connections can help you get funding if a friend or a friend of a friend can introduce you to someone with money.
This is especially true for angel investing because angels tend to fund entrepreneurs who they either already know personally or who were introduced to them by someone that they trust.
However, connections can help you even if you are seeking funding via more formalized routes, such as by applying to startup accelerators. Someone putting in a good word for you goes a long way!
#4: Business Networking Can Help You Get Exposure
Getting your product in front of your dream customers can be difficult if you don’t have much of a marketing budget to speak of.
However, if your network includes journalists, content creators, and social media influencers, they might help your business get exposure in those early days.
Again, it’s not just the first-order connections that can be beneficial, but also the second and third-order ones!
#5: Business Networking Can Help You Build a Great Team
Hiring is one of the most difficult aspects of running a business.
Sifting through applications, interviewing candidates, and onboarding new employees is a resource-intensive endeavor.
Moreover, if you hire the wrong person, firing them is not only going to be awkward, but it might also prove to be a challenge from a legal perspective.
That’s why it’s best to source candidates through your network whenever possible. It’s much less risky to hire a person who you either already know yourself or who has been vouched for by someone you trust.
Note that we are not talking about nepotism where you give a job to your second cousin’s nephew just because he’s a blood relative. You should only hire people who are qualified for the role in question!
How to Build Your Business Network From Scratch
Clean Up Your Online Presence
First things first:
Understand that people are going to google you. What are they going to find once they do?
We strongly advise cleaning up your online presence before you start building your network.
Consider learning the basics of open source intelligence (OSINT) and applying it to yourself to see what information is out there.
Here’s a free course that will teach you the fundamentals in less than five hours:
Do Interesting Things and Share Your Journey on Twitter
Social media can give you direct access to people who are much more successful than you. This hierarchy-flattening effect is especially noticeable on Twitter. You can take advantage of that and use it to build your network.
Start by doing interesting things and sharing your journey. This is much more difficult than retweeting memes, posting hot takes, and getting into online arguments, but it will make you stand out in the sea of low-effort tweets.
In the startup corner of Twitter, there’s an entire “build in public” movement where entrepreneurs share progress reports. You can share other stuff as well: fitness goals, personal projects, books you are reading, etc. Be authentic, not one-dimensional.
This will help you attract people with similar values, interests, and ambitions. It will also position you as a doer as opposed to a talker, which is something that garners respect in entrepreneurial circles.
Start Making Connections With Interesting People by Engaging With Their Content
You also want to start following interesting people and engaging with their content by leaving thoughtful comments.
Note that we said “interesting people”, not “successful people”. Pursue genuine connections without regard to status.
Of course, successful people tend to also be interesting, so if you like their tweets then by all means, follow them.
Just don’t fawn in the replies like some Renaissance courtier. Add to the conversation instead!
Slide Into Interesting People’s DMs Once You Have Built Some Rapport With Them
Once you’ve had multiple public exchanges with someone and are sure that they will recognize you, you can slide into their DMs.
A good way to do that is to share a link to an article, a podcast episode, or a video that somehow relates to one of your common interests.
This can work especially well with successful people who are used to getting DMs with requests for introductions, personal favors, and even money.
Let’s say that one of your interests is the history of civilizational collapses and a venture capitalist you’ve been following for a while seems to share it. Why not send them a link to a lecture about technological stagnation in medieval China?
You’ll probably catch their attention, assuming that they actually see your DM. The fact that you sent them something completely unrelated to business will make you stand out from the hordes of people who bombard them with startup pitches.
They probably won’t watch the lecture because they are busy. However, remember that the point of that first DM isn’t to get them to check out the link you sent them, it’s to establish DMs as an appropriate communication channel!
Help Interesting People Without Expecting Anything in Return
If you want to build a network, you need to make sure that you always give more than you take, 3:1 being a good ratio to aim for.
So be generous with your time and go out of your way to help your “mutuals” (people whom you follow who also follow you).
And don’t make the common mistake of DMing successful people, offering to work for free, and asking them to give you a task.
Instead, if you have a skill that you know they could benefit from, just do the work and send it to them. See if they like it and take it from there.
Just make sure that you apply the same standards to the free work that you would to paid work!
If You Ask for Someone’s Advice, Implement it and Report Back to Them
Successful individuals are used to people asking them for advice.
What they aren’t used to is people implementing their advice and reporting back to them. You’ll immediately stand out if you do this.
Plus, once they see you getting results, they will probably be inclined to continue helping you. In fact, they might even become your mentors!
Be Proactive About Talking to Your Twitter Friends on Zoom
Once you have an established connection with someone and exchange DMs with them on a regular basis, see if you can get them to hop on a Zoom call.
That’s easy to do if they need your advice on something but you can also invite them for a casual chat. Having an audio or a video call will make the connection feel more real compared to solely interacting through text.
Go Out of Your Way to Meet Your Twitter Friends in Real Life
Finally, while having friends on Twitter is great, your aim should be to eventually meet them in real life.
Doing that is straightforward with people who live in the same city as you. However, in all likelihood, your Twitter friends will be scattered all over the world.
Still, you can reach out to them if you are ever in their city or even country and organize a meetup.
Also, if you know that several mutuals are going to be attending a particular event, we strongly advise going as well, even if it’s in a different country.
Obviously, that can get expensive, so it may not always be possible. But if you can afford to buy an event ticket, book a hotel, and get on a plane, it’s probably worth it and you should see it as an investment in your network.
Remember, while you can get to know people online, nothing can replace real-life interactions!
Did You Know That Learning Copywriting Can Help You Build Your Business Network?
Our co-founder Russell Brunson has said that it was copywriting that made him rich.
In fact, he believes that it’s the most important entrepreneurial skill of them all. But what does this have to do with business networking?
At its core, copywriting is about persuasion via the written word and if you want to successfully implement the strategy outlined in this article, you will need to master it.
Otherwise, you will struggle to get people’s attention on a text-driven platform like Twitter. Tweets, DMs… It’s all copy!
Fortunately, our friend Jim Edwards wrote his best-selling book “Copywriting Secrets” for busy entrepreneurs just like you.
In this book, he covers everything you need to know in order to start writing persuasive copy.
“Copywriting Secrets” is available on Amazon where it has over 1,800 reviews and a 4.7-star rating.
But you can also get it directly from Jim for free.
All he asks is that you cover the shipping!
So what are you waiting for? 🧐