1. Basic Networking: Like everything, we have to start at the beginning. This posts lays out the foundations of networking.
2. How to grow your network – Get a dog – Out of all the different ways to network, this is our favorite, and most friendly way.
3. How not to network in LinkedIn – There’s no good without bad – this is an important post about what not to do.
4. Naymz – LinkedIn for reputation management: We’ve dedicated many posts to LinkedIn, but it’s not alone. Here’s the best competitor, which should be taken into consideration.
5. 4 Web and Business Myths – We’re talking about networking on a web site, so web business myths are a subject we had to address, and do a reality check.

Have a great 2010!

Picture credit: stuartpilbrow on Flickr.

Part of my work with start-up companies includes finding investors and funds. With time you find that somethings works for you better than others. Of course, these are just my impressions. Hope you’ll find them useful:

1. Your Network - As mentioned here frequently before, use your close network of family and friends to find funding. It’s common for many start-ups who started out in their garage to raise the first amount of money with their family and friends, which often referred to as FFF (friends, family and fools) . Just to get a kick start, make a short and clear presentation and gather up your close friends and family(your living room is fine). This idea has 2 main advantages: The first is you have a great chance to present your idea and get free feedback. The second is, and take this seriously – a true opportunity to raise capital from people who will be suportive and believe in your potential. Take this group of seed investors seriously, and you just might be a step from seeing your idea turn into business.
2. Be prepared – You’ve just launched the works on your new start-up, even took a bank loan, or took your friends and family as small investors. You already have a business plan, you just finished developing the first stage of your application or product. You’ll probably need to find more capital, and look for more investors. Before you do anything else, have at least the following, a short 1-2 pager summary of your business. A few really good images of your application/website and not more than a 10 page powerpoint slideshow. No one can review more than that and stay focused.
3. To the next step – Now that you have a short executive summary, a killer (and short!) powerpoint presentation and the money invested in you by those close to you, your ready to move to the next stage. Make a list of(and this will take time), potential new investors. Who should be on this list? Anyone related to you or your friends with financial means. Look for:
   1. People related to financial organizations such as Venture Capital firms.
   2. Private investor groups. In many cases small and medium investors group up to invest in new businesses.
   3. Big corporates in related industry fields, that might invest or collaborate with your business.
   4. Business Development experts, that raised capital in the past, they will cost you but will save time and can shorten the time you spend in order to raise the funds.
4. Be Creative! Aside from the options listed above, you can search for capital in many places you haven’t thought about. Not only big VC firms or financiers can come up with capital for your start-up. It can be anyone with financial means. The same way you can gather up your family and friends to hear about your great idea, you can do the same with any business person you can find. Ask for a meeting with owners of a retails stores, big agencies or any other kind of business owners. In many cases Business owners are looking for new ways to bring added value to their cashflow, and investing in new start-up can be a great new opportunity for them.

In our next posts I wil give some more input on the subject with actual examples from my experience.

There is always an exception, dogs who prefer different things to do with their leisure time-

Just like any network, dog owners have their unique characteristics and common interests (dogs…), and just like any other network, the people in it, are different from one another and have different interests,views and professional backgrounds beside being dog owners. Due to the fact that most dogs like to play and run, many dog owners seek for playing grounds that are safe, and with other friendly dogs around.  These two parameters bring dog owners close to one another, and almost naturally meet in places such as parks, large school yards, and any other place which is big enough for the dogs to run in, and far enough from traffic.

I joined a small group of 5 people, who meet up almost every night at a high school near home. The dogs run and play for about  30 minutes, which is fun to watch and healthy for the dogs. While the dogs socialize between themselves, we, the two legged, have enough time to talk and network. One of the biggest benefits is, you get to meet people you probably would not have met otherwise. This makes it a great way to grow your network of connections – personal and business.

Except for the additional responsibility, having a dog, is fun, enjoyable and can grow your network.

And one last update, here is how to find a dog…

How do you join groups? First thing, decide what are your fields of interests are. What does your business do? Real-estate, law, consulting? In almost any subject you’ll find groups and subgroups with many professionals in them. People (like you) on each group are looking to hire, talk and write on the selected topic. In other words, people are looking to connect – to network.

Groups Search on LinkedIn

Once you join a group, you can get noticed by participating in conversations. You can get notified by mail on conversations that interest you. You can start a conversation yourself. You could approach people by leaving a comment on conversations, sending a message, and eventually becoming their connections on LinkedIn.

Here are some of the groups I found useful and with great contacts, that I joined lately:

Social Media Today – All about the world of social media, tactics, conversations and the people of the relatively new industry. The group is a part of the Social Media Today website. Recent conversations are about social media for businesses, legal issues on social media and etc. I found the group very effective and useful. The people participating there are pros, have great insights and some of them became my connections.

The Blog Zone – A group for bloggers- a group all about blogs, bloggers, blog content. One of its subgroups is The Bloggers Bulletin. This is a blog platform hosting a few bloggers and their content on a variety of topics.

Business Development – A group with discussions on sales, producing revenue and business development for companies.

Search for groups that interest you, and start being active. The networking will happen by itself.

About a week ago I met and old colleague for a beer after work. While having our beer, I heard someone ordering a beer in Spanish two seats away from us on the bar. Being curious about the spanish, I introduced myself, and so did my colleague. The person we met turned out to be ‘Gale Talk‘, A Madrid based techno artist, who came to town for a concert. We had a fun talk about music and a few more rounds of beer.

Gale Talk

From here on, networking went on using MySpace, where you can find information and more importantly a few tracks. So I could listen to his music, which I really liked. Hope you will enjoy it too. I couldn’t make it to the concert, hope to see it next time in town.

1. What to wear? If you are a man, don’t laugh at this point, this is not a fashion tip! It’s important to wear something suitable for the occasion, but try to wear something comfortable for you. If you usually don’t wear a suit, don’t start now, people will notice you are uncomfortable, and it can be interpreted as unreliable. If you are not sure, and there isn’t a clear dress code, try asking a colleague on similar events. Remember, dress code is important, but feeling comfortable around others is crucial.

Sometimes, dressing wrong for the occasion is serving a purpose…

2. Like Actors – Learn your lines! If you are not a people person, and finding it hard to introduce yourself, do as professional actors do, rehearse and learn by heart. You can implement this method by learning by heart, just like writing your CV. Take the highlights of your work and business actions, and shape them into 3-4 short sentences you can say naturally, short and to the point. My personal example I use in events is say: “I’m a self-employed business developer. currently I’m working on…” .Keep it short and interesting. You can finish these few lines by handing a business card and wait to see if people ask to hear more.

3. Rehearse. Practice makes..well, you know. Again, like actors, a good rehearsal is a great help before the real show. The best way to rehearse on networking is only with the real thing. Try finding prior to your event a smaller one. See if you can find a smaller event (there’s always something), even on a different subject before the event you intend to attend. Go to a smaller gathering, where you preferably know a few people, and try approaching people with the lines you remembered by heart. If it works stick to it, if not, you can still adjust them before the important event.

4. Do your homework. Try making the most out of every event. Study the subjects that will be spoken about, what’s up for discussion? Who is going to attend the event? Study these detail and network with specific new people on relevant subjects to them and yourself.

5. Don’t forget to enjoy. Even business events these days have a fun aspect to them (or at least they try). In most conventions there is a variety of people, eatable food and in many cases, drinks. Think of these events as an opportunity to enjoy yourself, with business as an added value. If people will see you as optimistic and positive, it will ease the networking.

These 5 guidelines should keep you comfortable, confident, positive and interesting enough to network effectively to new connections.

In this blog we dealt with how to built your network, and how to make it grow. Assuming you already have a network of considerable size, it’s time to make it work for you, and for your connections. A non-active network, won’t bring any value to your business. Connection won’t last – the next time you’ll need someone from your network you will have to start rebuilding your relationship from scratch.

One of the best ways to keep your network active and bring value to your business, is connecting between people inside your network. As we said before, a network is based on your family, friends, colleagues and associates. Do these different people know one another? And if not, why should they?

Well, the answer is quite simple. I explained before that people connect to people and not to businesses. If you are the one to connect between people, you bring added value to both parties, and will be remembered positively by both sides. By connecting people you you make a good reputation for yourself and people will appreciate doing business with you. A good example is romantic relationships. Ask couples who introduced them to one another, I’m sure they always remember.

What kind of links can you make? The possibilities are endless. You can recommend a talented family member to a colleague looking to hire. You can connect between a business associate to a supplier who is a close friend. Of-course you can use the example in the the first paragraph and establish a new company based on your network connections, Try thinking which of your network connections could fill a position in a new company (sales, development, marketing, finance).

Following Up

Last but not least, when you do make connections, you must bring added value to the new connection between all sides. Don’t just exchange phone numbers or forward emails. Make sure you follow-up on the new connections you made. Phone both sides, get a feedback, explain why you recommended a certain person above all others. Here are a few more words on the importance of follow-ups by Dave Clarke.

Build strong links between your network connections, all sides will benefit in the long run.

Don’t miss opportunities – When does that big opportunity come? You could never know. In order to avoid missing opportunities, there’s only one thing to do. Take part in activities related to your business and personal life as mentioned here before. Any occasion or person you meet, could easily become a great opportunity  for a big client or  a new contract, or finding the perfect candidate for a job your hiring for.

Then again, some meetings just bring up too many bad memories

Don’t force your  business – Your product is great, I’m sure of that. But try to understand the event you’re participating in. Timing is everything (along with a good product,creative  marketing and some luck…). Sometimes you might just have one opportunity to introduce yourself to someone relevant to you -  don’t blow it. If you speak about your business in the wrong place, you might be considered rude and maybe even boring. From my experience, always introduce yourself first as a person, an individual. Don’t talk about your business straight away. People like to connect with people, not companies. Start by a short introduction about yourself. People will remember you but they will seldom remember a company name. If people will remember you it doesn’t matter which business it is, They would be interested in YOU.

Don’t beat yourself when you’re wrong – We all make mistakes, and we learn from them. You tried to introduce your business to a potential investor and failed. Well, these things happen. When you’re unsuccessful, a few things should be done. First of all, go back and trace your moves. What went wrong? Was it the PowerPoint slides? Were you under-prepared? Understand what can be improved for the next time. Now that you are ready to try again, do it as many times as possible. You failed making connections in a convention? Go to a dozen more. You approached potential costumers and it didn’t work, try doing it better, and this time approach a hundred costumers more.

Never, but NEVER, work ‘on the fly’ – It’s nice being spontaneous when it comes to going out, not for your business. Although networking is not a science as accurate as rocket physics, you can plan your moves wisely. Decided on going to a convention to make new connections?  Wonderful! Is this convention in your field of work? Is there a better one soon? How costly is it? You must ask yourself these questions. Otherwise you will be spending more than you can afford of your time and money.

Don’t underestimate the power of online networking – We wrote here about LinkedIn, blogs and other means of social networking. These tools are already important enough for businesses, and will become even more dominant in our lives. Even if your business is completely offline, you need to start changing it. Be sure your competitors are working on it as we speak. Learn where your line of work is exposed on the web. Learn which blogger writes about your industry. Bloggers write almost about everything, from technology to foreign-exchange , Graffiti and even Hummus. Take a few hours a week and find the places interesting for you on the web and be active there, for reputation, costumers, colleagues and in short Networking.

One of the most useful and effective tools on LinkedIn is recommendations.

LinkedIn recommendation link

On LinkedIn you can recommend or get recommended by any of your connections. Recommendations are added to your public profile, and can be seen by anyone.

Recommendations on LinkedIn profile

Take the time to ask your connections on LinkedIn to write a few kind words about you. The importance here is that your LinkedIn profile is part of your online reputation, seen by people you would like to conduct business with or have them hire you or be your customers. These are the exact people that will see your recommendations if you would have them. In many cases, colleagues, former employers or friends will have no problem recommending you (it doesn’t have to be more than a 4-5 lines). Of course I would suggest writing a few recommendation yourself to help friends and colleagues and to return a favor.

Another important thing is to know about the applications you can add to LinkedIn. There are many around and I will give one as an example I added to my profile. I added the wordpress app a short while ago. This application retrieves new posts from my blog (this blog in this case) and shows a preview of it in my profile.

Wordpress app for LinkedIn

In this way, my blog gets more exposure, and my connections can get closer and know what I’m writing about or what interests me. There are many more linking to other applications outside LinkedIn for many purposes.

In conclusion to the last three posts on LinkedIn, I recommend setting up a LinkedIn user, getting connected with it. Use its features as explained on this blog with recommendations, groups and applications. After a short term of 2-3 months your profile will be a substantial point on your map of business network.

…One last thing, when you need to introduce yourself to new people,  provided your LinkedIn user is up and running, you could export or link in an email your public profile instead of a short CV or abstract. This way people can see everything they need to know about you (and only what you chose to show…). Here is mine.

A birthday party can be an excellent ground for networking. For example, you might be a colleague of the birthday boy (or girl), and other guests can be relatives, college friends, co-workers from another place or from a totally different background.

These people from different backgrounds get to know each other at the birthday, and this offers networking opportunities.  There might be a business opportunity with another attendant of this event. You already have some basic common ground – you know the birthday boy.

This common acquaintance is the first possible topic of conversation, that can lead to other topics, and perhaps some business opportunities. The conversation may lead to talking about further meetings and the exchange of business cards.

At such event, the mingling continues, and you might miss out on exchanging business cards. Well, if you’re interested in connecting, you can still reach out via your mutual friend. This mutual friend can also supply more information about the person you talked to. It naturally goes both ways…

After being friends with someone for a long time, you already get to know his friends which you meet at his birthday, or his other events. Sometimes the guest list repeats itself. While seeing familiar faces is nice, the networking opportunities decrease.

Shared Events

Your birthday is coming up, and you feel like throwing a party for your friends. You’ll feel very comfortable with your close friends. That’s great! But maybe you don’t wish to repeat the same ritual year after year. Sometimes you’ll prefer to skip the party. How about a party with a wider set of people?

I have a friend who was born a week after me. Last year we had the idea of making one party for the both of us. The first advantage is that the burden of organizing the party was shared between the both of us. This made things easier.

And what we’re here to talk about is networking. My friend and myself have common friends. I also have friends that aren’t his friends or acquaintances, and the other way around.

The party that we threw together last year was and opportunity for many people to get to know new people. I’m glad to say that it was also very fun, so we hope to repeat the success this year. We already know each other’s close friends, but we aren’t familiar with all the acquaintances.

So, also this year’s party is a chance for our guests and also for ourselves to meet new people and to network, apart from having fun of course…