Networking where you Least Expect it
After mapping the first places to start your network, we can be creative on the next places to look at. The idea is that networking should be part of your day and spotting opportunities everywhere. If all this doesn’t make sense to you, that’s OK. In this post I’ll try to demonstrate from my personal experience and the people around me, which are naturally part of my network, how to establish first connections outside your family and friends.
The first thing to remember and to understand is you must be active and consistent about your growing network. This means that connections in most cases won’t built up by themselves. Let’s review the possibilities:
How active are you physically? Do you work out? jog? swim or cycle? If not, you should, and for more than the one reason. Put a side the obvious health advantages of being fit and the pleasure of it, taking part of any sport is a great way of getting to know people. In other words – establishing connections.
Jogging, swimming and cycling are becoming more and more group sports. People train in small groups and get better results with the group support. It means that probably somewhere near you there are various people who could become a part of your network, people who meet up more than once a week and have sport as a common ground for connections. Just for example, last week I found a web designer I needed swimming in the lane next to me.
Are you active politically? It doesn’t matter if it’s on a local scale, state or nation wide, many people choose to be involved in politics for many reasons. Whether if its for making a change or self-fulfillment you’ll probably enjoy the the action that comes with politics, and meet all kinds of people with different backgrounds, professions ant interests. Some of these people could easily become friends and connections. Just be careful not to get hurt-
These were just two examples of ways and places to grow your network of connections and friends outside your natural surroundings. These ideas can easily be implemented on various circles such as PTA, volunteering organizations and different kinds of clubs. The basic idea is to be active socially in places and organizations you haven’t encountered before. This way, you’ll grow your chain of connections, friends and network.
