The Joys of Networking - Get Articles by Kathie M. Thomas |  |
> Get Articles > Networking > The Joys of Networking The Joys of Networking Download as PDFKathie M. Thomas kathieasecretary.com.au "A Clayton's Secretary" http://www.asecretary.com.au I am an avid networker. It was something I did before beginning my own business, but since being in business, networking has been paramount to building public awareness of my services, and that of my network. The more I learn about networking and attend various meetings, the more I can see that networking is a key strategy for business today. I first read about networking in 1994 in Robyn Henderson's first book Networking for Success and built much of my initial business carrying out the suggestions/ instructions written in her book. Then I discovered networking meetings such as the Home Based Business Association, which is now known as the Micro Business Network, Leads Club, and various industry based associations, and more recently Business Network International (BNI). I'm currently the President of BNI Moorabbin and it is encouraged that only 1 industry representative per chapter is allowed - to negate competition amongst chapter members. This means all business for your particular category comes to you! If you haven't yet come across BNI I fully recommend it and encourage you to visit the website at www.bni.com.au to seek a chapter close to you. You may wonder why you need to 'network'. If you don't yet have all the business you could handle and more, then I would suggest you do need to network. However, it doesn't just have to be done in person. I also belong to a number of groups online. This isn't as busy as it might sound and I do find time to read through messages, even if only briefly at times. However, I do post responses to questions that I know the answer to and this pays off. Why? Recently I responded to a comment posted by a lady on one discussion group and another promptly emailed me privately, rather than through the group. She'd lost my email address and was watching for a posting from me. This lady, based in the USA, has written some children's books and is establishing her new business. This lady was keen to start writing articles for online magazines and newsletters, and place advertisements but had no clues where to start. She engaged my services to research suitable publications for her, with a listing of their URL's (web addresses for the uninitiated), their editor's email address, details for article submission and advertisement rates. I was able to supply her with a lot of information and she felt she was getting real value for her money - paying Australian dollar rates. I emailed her the invoice and she faxed back her payment promptly. What a great way to do business! If you haven't yet had the opportunity to explore the networking and discussion groups on the Internet then I encourage you to visit www.yahoogroups.com , or www.topica.com . There are literally thousands and thousands of discussion groups on every conceivable topic - there has to be something of interest there for you! And who knows what connections you might make? Whether for business or hobby, being involved in these groups can provide a lot of personal enjoyment as well as business enhancement. What a great way to network! On occasion I get asked if I get lonely in my office on my own? The answer is an emphatic 'no'! Between my work, my contacts with clients, the online discussion groups and the local network groups to which I belong and participate, I find I achieve a good balance of being alone (but not lonely) and having human contact when I need it. Kathie How useful did you find this article? This article can be downloaded freely from http://www.get-articles.com and used on your website or in your ezine so long as the author is credited and their resource box left intact. You should not change any links in the article, and where the article is used on a website it's links should be clickable. Please see our terms and conditions page for more information: http://www.get-articles.com/authors-publishers-terms.php |
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