FXStreet is a big forex portal. They have a large audience, many contributors and many business partners. Their CEO, Franscesc Riverola has a blog that is updated almost daily. This is an excellent tool to communicate with readers and business partners.

Riverola takes networking through his blogs one step further: he frequently publishes detailed statistics for the site. While he currently has good numbers to show off, this approach isn’t common in the forex industry and isn’t common at all.

Being too closed and secret has its prices. You would find it hard to communicate with someone that has a lot to hide, and that shows suspicion. Speaking with someone who is constantly looking over his shoulder will also make you suspicious and nervous.

So, I find openness to be a good thing. A positive, open attitude usually prompts the same reaction, and makes networking easier – more trust is earned when you are positive.

Still, Riverola’s approach is quite unique. In most businesses, there are a few secrets, a few things that you won’t expose at all or at least not immediately. Companies that have a website as their main asset usually hold the stats close to them, and will only expose them only to trusted business partners. If they do expose them to the public, they’ll cherry-pick specific numbers and be very creative about it.

Riverola’s numbers fascinate me, as I’m also in the forex publishing business, through Forex Crunch. While I salute his approach, I don’t show all my cards. Am I wise to have some secrets, or is my attitude too conservative for the 21st century?

1. Setting up a website can cost as low as $150: there isn’t a bigger mistake for a business than this one, especially for small and medium businesses. In many cases, a business website is the ‘Front Cover’ of the business and your reputation. This is where most of the new clients and costumers first encounter your product. That ‘Front Cover’ of your business should reflect the quality of your product. You don’t have to spend a fortune on it, but have a professional do the job, plan wisely what your site should consist of, make sure the design is friendly, and that all the features work properly(links, payment, video’s, ads etc.). This still isn’t a big cost, and it is of great importance. Isn’t it worth paying a little more on your website?
2. Social media is a waste of time. I will start by how NOT to use social media (Sent by Shooky Galili) It’s rarely heard that social media is a waste of time. I can relate to businessmen who say the haven’t any spare time to be active on social platforms. I don’t think a business owner should be active on more than 3-4 social websites. It can be difficult to keep track. The key here is to start with a small modest blog, where you can update on new products and news. All that with writing no more than one 200-word post a week. Some businessmen such as lawyers already have a substantial amount of content written, and can start by posting it. After the blog is up and running, you can link it to your facebook, twitter and so on. Step by step is a good method to step into social media. An interesting discussion about this issue is happening right now at the Social Media Today group on LinkedIn.
3. Offline Advertisement is dead. Although social media and online advertisement are taking their share in advertising budgets, offline media such as newspapers, radio and TV is still part of our lives, and businesses should consider them as part of their marketing campaigns. When focused on local costumers, radio and local papers still have influence on the market. With local radio stations and papers you could complete your campaign and reach more clients in a relatively low cost. It turns out there is even much to learn from radio. Read more about it on digitaltonto by Greg Satell
4. Online Networking and Offline Networking are two completely different stories. The truth couldn’t be further away from that. On social media, email, conventions and even birthday parties, people behave like…people. Most of us enjoy meeting new people, knowing them and having some kind of a relationship (business, romantic, community..) .  If you meet someone face to face, you first want to know who you’re meeting and what common grounds you have. Then, if it seems reasonable enough for both side, a connection can be made. Online and social media aren’t that different. Our previous post about befriending too soon on Facebook guides you what to ‘do’ and what  ‘not do’ on social media.

I’m sure there are many more myths we all encounter daily. I would love to hear yours, and post them.

Well, luck isn’t really the key for success here. A good idea is important, timing people will say is crucial, and of-course L-O-C-A-T-I-O-N (usually said three times). But is that all?

We think not.

As a partner in more than one business I think one of the most important things is to let people know you have a business. It’s not that obvious: most people would think that they need to talk (or write for that matter) about their business only with customers and suppliers. This attitude could be the downside of your business, Let’s review this:

Costumers – whether it’s customers, clients or users you need, they are practically every way you look. Don’t judge the people you meet. Anyone of your friends, family or community could become a costumer (even a paying one). As mentioned in previous posts, most of the people in your surroundings are part of your network, and in this case part of your business’s network. If your business is a store or a user related online website, it means anyone and everyone are your customers.

Make sure to be enthusiastic about your business and tell the story behind your store/company/website to your bar-tender (before the fourth round of drinks), to your friends, their friends, former work colleagues, family and even to the annoying neighbor from across the hall. If you show enough motivation about your business to enough people, be sure, the word will get around.

Suppliers – With a new business comes great responsibility and even greater costs. You will probably need a place to rent, buy office supplies, online or offline storage, pay consultants and maybe even experts. Experts are the same as consultants but cost more . Except for getting a competitive price from your suppliers, you need them to be reliable and supply quality products.

Try to always find  suppliers inside your network, if they meet your standards of course. Suppliers within your network will probably be more convenient about terms of payment and credit, be more loyal to you, and most importantly might speak highly of you to potential costumers or even becomes costumers themselves.

All this shouldn’t be instead of marketing and advertising, but it will make it much more effective, and its really cost-effective.

One last thing, looking for a job isn’t so different from starting up a new business from the networking point of view. We’ll discuss it in one of our the next posts.