Just because you're self-employed doesn't mean you have to go it alone in business. Joining or building a network of fellow professionals can be hugely beneficial to you for a number of reasons.

Despite this, many people still shy away from networking events. Some common excuses for this include…

• I'd feel awkward


• I wouldn't know what to say to anyone


• The people there aren't my target customers


• The people there aren't in my line of work


• I'm too busy, it would be a waste of my time


• It would cost me money as I wouldn't be working


• I'd rather spend this time on marketing


• I do all my networking on social media

So what are some of the benefits of networking?

• Building relationships


• Increasing visibility


• Becoming known as the go-to person in your own line of work


• Giving and receiving advice


• Being around others who know what it's like to run your own business


• Reducing feelings of isolation


• Leading to sales and other opportunities


• Social events and friendships


• Cross promotion and collaboration

In this episode we're taking a deep dive into business networking. We'll be hearing the opinions and experiences of our returning friends Laura Lucas, Alison Colley, Chris Marr, Julie Christie, Andy Brown, Patricia McGuire, and Pete Matthew.

On top of that we're joined by business networking expert Stefan Thomas, author of the Business Networking for Dummies book. Stefan brings a wealth of knowledge and advice on his specialist subject, and I'm certain you'll hugely benefit from it going forward.

Transcript

It can be difficult because a lot of people find it hard to go into a room full of strangers and just start talking to them. But I think if it’s something that makes you nervous is just remembering that probably most people feel nervous as well.

I’m Colin Gray, and this is UK Business Startup. This week we’re getting into one of those areas of business that really splits the crowd. Some people love it, and even more hate it. But there’s little doubt that, if you do it right, it can be one of the best ways to grow your business. And, it has a bunch of benefits besides that. You might have guessed by now. Of course, we’re talking business networking.

Stefan Thomas: A lot of people think that networking is just that thing which some of us who are quite odd do at seven thirty in the morning where we meet up at formal networking events and have breakfast with other people. But networking is about every connection you make along the way.

That was Stefan Thomas – author of business networking for dummies. He’s one of the top UK experts in this area, so he knows how to get networking right. We’ll be hearing plenty from him on this episode, along with a few old friends. Talking of which, here’s Alison Colley again from Real Employement law advice on how she sees networking.

Alison Colley: When I set up my business actually going to networking and meeting people who had either set up their own businesses or who were providing the sorts of services that I needed as a business was crucial. There's no better way of building trust than at networking. Then you can tap into those resources

Chris Marr: It’s a bit cliché now but it is true that people buy from people that they know they can trust. Not only that. People refer business to people that they know they can trust as well. The only way to get known by people and for people to like you and to trust you is to build a relationship with people.

That was Chris Marr, founder of the Content Marketing Academy. He talked a lot about trust on our marketing episode, and here it is again. This ties back to what Stefan told us – it’s those connections, and the trust you build with them. Those are the people that send you clients, or might even become clients themselves. Now, at this point, you might be thinking – this just doesn’t apply to me. It’s only for b2b companies isn’t it? Well, Chris has a good way for you to figure it out.

Chris Marr: We look back over the last six months, look at where our business has come from, and we always write down two or three names. That piece of business came from that person, this business came from that person. What you start to realize actually is that people are massively involved in your business.

If people just don’t know who you are, then you're less likely to get business. We do coaching calls, especially with people who are just starting their business. One of the big things that always comes up is, well, they say to me, “We’re not getting enough business.” I immediately ask them, “How big is your network? What are you doing to actively grow your network,” and they’re just simply not doing enough to get out there and to be known by people.

So, it’s not just trust, it’s visibility, isn’t it? No matter what type of business you have, you can always be more visible. The problem is, this personal connection caper is pretty time consuming… How do you make sure you’re making that time worthwhile.

Chris Marr: I don’t mean going meeting everybody, not going to have a coffee with every single person because it can be a massive time suck. What you need to be good at is qualifying people that you want to connect with, people who have influence, people who clearly are good at introducing people to other people, and people who have quite big networks are the people you're looking to spend time with.

What you're not trying to do, and I guess this kind of like the next question is, is not just about spending time with people that could be potential customers, because that’s sort of like thinking quite small. You’ve got to think quite big. You actually want to meet people that have bigger influence. They may never ever buy from you, but they might be … They will probably introduce you to other people, they will probably recommend your services to other people.

It’s well put – you might well find some direct clients through networking, but the big wins are in the wider viral effect. You get to know 10 people in a networking group, and suddenly you’re the ‘roof repair guy’ not only for them, but their entire network. When their friend says, Man my roof just fell in, who do you think they’re going to tell them about?

So, that makes sense – looks like the time’s well worth it, as long as you’re smart about how you spend it. Remember too that time’s just another kind of currency. Here’s how Stefan sees it.

Stefan Thomas: I treat my networking as part of my marketing spend. That’s an investment to my business because I know that an awful lot of the big opportunities that I've got coming up in the coming year and that I've had in the last couple of years have come from a little conversation at a networking event, and if I go to networking events, conferences, seminars, whatever it happens to be, then I’m more likely to start more of those conversations which lead to big opportunities.

So, Stefan knows it’s worthwhile for him. He’s tracking those opportunities and where they lead. But, then, Stefan’s a pro. What about mere mortals like us? Here’s Julie Christie from Tea Break Tog:

Julie Christie: I didn’t do anything like that for about three years, and then when I did that everything changed. Pretty much over the course of a couple of months I realized that everything was changing because of the people that I was meeting in this group, just expanding my network, but also encouraging me to think about my business differently. People who were having successes in different areas from me I was able to question them and learn from them and vice-versa.

So, this is interesting. She’s pretty clear that her network brings big direct benefits. But, she’s also starting to delve into the other upside. Because we know that, for all the things we love about running a business, it’s not all shiny rainbows.

Other Benefits

Laura Lucas: I was a bit worried I might be lonely when I first started my business working for myself, but because of the networking I've done I’ve meet amazing people actually. People who I feel are much more likeminded and much more attuned to the sort of ambitions I’ve got and where I want my life to go than maybe people who I would happen to work alongside. I always enjoyed going into work and having good relationships with my colleagues and so on, but I feel like there’s something that people who have their own business have in common. They’ve got that vision and that ambition. It’s just great to be around those sort of people.

It’s actually about developing those relationships to see how we can help each other and how we can collaborate and who we can introduce each other to. Is a huge, huge benefit of having a business that I hadn’t expected.

Julie Christie:  Every week you're with these people who are passionate about their businesses and we’re all talking about our business and how we can move it forward. But because you're meeting them the next week you're really motivated to go back and work on those things that you’ve been tal