Networking For First Time Entrepreneurs

Posted at March 30, 2009

Effective networking is an extremely important tool for first time entrepreneurs. Irrespective of target goals – meeting potential investors, finding business partners, establishing technology partnerships, or simply spreading the word around about your new venture – networking provides the necessary channels to meet those goals if utilized properly.

Robert Ochtel offers some good tips on “dos and don’ts” of networking for first time entrepreneurs in his blog post titled ‘Some Truths About Networking for First Time Entrepreneurs‘. I especially like his comment on how networking is really focused “Socializing”:

“Networking is really no different than any other socializing activity. In fact, if it were referred to as “socializing”, instead of networking, I believe it would be less intimidating to first time entrepreneurs. The word “networking” seems to have an underlying performance-based stigma associated with it………A better approach is to attend each networking event with a positive attitude and hope to meet one to two individuals you can possibly create a personal connection with.”

It’s true that people are far more relaxed in social settings (with friends and family or casual gatherings) than in networking events. As Robert points out, this is due to “performance based stigma” associated with networking events that creates an expectation of walking away with contacts that are potentially valuable for you or your venture. In this case, the concept of “value” is essentially misplaced. Networking rarely generates the type of contacts and relationships that create an immediately impact on your venture overnight — for example, you cannot meet an investor and expect him to invest in your company immediately. Instead, focus must be on cultivating mutually beneficial, long term relationships that might potentially add value to you and your venture in the long term.

Following up with the contacts you meet at any event within a week or so of that event is also important step in building a relationship with that contact. Networking does not end when you meet a person at a conference or an event – but continues way beyond the event. When you meet someone at a networking event, you are just someone they “met at an event” – like many others they might have met that day at that particular event. Following up and maintaining a continuous dialogue will give you an opportunity to distinguish yourself from the pack and stand out.

Here are some “do’s and don’ts” of following up and keeping an open ended conversation going:

Do send an email within a week of meeting the contact, giving them the context of your meeting such as date and place of the event, any specific conversation you had with the contact, etc.
Do follow the blog of the contact if there is one and contribute to the conversation on the blog thro’ comments.
Do follow the person on Twitter – this is effective and non-intrusive way of keeping up with updates of the contact.
Do Not send a LinkedIn connection request immediately — they don’t know you well enough yet to be on their list of connections (this may not apply to someone who is an open networker).
Do Not send a Facebook connection request immediately — again, they don’t know you well enough for you to be on their list of friends. Most people also use Facebook exclusively for managing their personal network (and LinkedIn for professional) only and it might be a long time before you can connect with them on Facebook at that level.

To expand on the “targeted networking” Robert talked about i his post, here are a few more tips on how to network effectively.

Give before you receive: Key to developing effective long term network is to be willing to give without an expectation of receiving. Share knowledge and resources with the people in your network and all that “good karma” will come back to you eventually when you need help from your network.
Contribute to blogs: Take part in the conversations on the blogs you follow and contribute comments, feedback and resources back to the community.
Volunteer: Volunteer for a not-for-profit organization that is a better fit for you and your venture in your target industry. In addition to giving you an opportunity to give back to the world, it also gives you an excellent channel for networking.
Join professional associations:Joining a professional association that matches your (or your venture’s) area of expertise is also an effective way to be part of a community of people with similar interests.
Attend local meetup events: Find and attend a meetup event in your local area. Depending on the topic and area of interest, there are several meetups happening in every city, every day. Try a few in your area until you find the ones that fit your interests and profile.
Organize networking events: Another sure fire way to meet new people is to organize a networking event yourself. These events can be as simple as a happy hour in your favorite restaurant or a meetup in a local coffee shop or even a breakfast event organized by you or your company.

Networking is a tough but crucial component of the first time entrepreneur’s overall strategy for personal and professional success. I myself am practicing most of the tips from above and from Robert’s post — and several others are already on my networking road map.

Got any more tips on networking for first time entrepreneurs ? Share them here. In the mean time, get out there and start networking !