Why It's Important to Network With Other Business Owners

Business tips
Jereme Sanborn


networking

You've probably heard the old saying throughout your business life, "It's not what you know, but who you know that counts." It's just as true today, but in a slightly different way than you might think. In a world where everyone is increasingly connected in some way with everyone else, what you should want now is to be a "connected business owner".

Why Maintaining Client Connections Is Important

Staying constantly connected with your clients helps you better understand their needs. Better understanding their needs helps you address them more successfully. Successful addressing of client needs means happy clients, which in turn means repeat business and more referrals.

Why Supplier Connections Are Important

As you grow you could stretch your own abilities to the breaking point. Your ability to grow your business will depend on your ability to find suppliers who can meet your growing needs. You may discover people who can do some of the things you do better. Or you might find suppliers to handle certain chores you're not good at, freeing you up to focus on areas where you excel.

That's why you need to work up a network of suppliers you trust. Suppliers you trust will help you grow your business.

Why It's Important to Make the Right Network Connections

Networking just because you've been told you should, and doing it in the same old ways, won't develop the right network connections. What works is spending your time networking with business owners you can learn from.

Smart business owners attract the kind of suppliers you want to attract. These smart suppliers want to work with other smart business owners (like you) who need to outsource distracting tasks, so they can grow their businesses.

Surrounding yourself with other smart business owners can be encouraging to your own success. They can also hold you accountable to the success plans you've made.

It's Important to Network Because the World Is Connected

Succeeding in business nowadays depends on being in the technological mix with the rest of the business world. Website traffic, email campaigns, social media activity all drive social and economic success today. It's also what makes being connected with other business owners even more important: because everybody's doing it.

Try LinkedIn

One online tool is particularly geared to helping business owners connect with each other. Of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn is the one that serves the B2B world most effectively. How can 400 million professionals be wrong? Try putting LinkedIn at the core of your efforts to stay connected with clients, suppliers, and other business owners like yourself.