Being the owner of a SME can often feel like you're standing on an island in the middle of the ocean with no-one around except for a few monkeys and a couple of palm trees. Why is this so, when there are so many of us? According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there was an estimated 1,646,344 small business operators in June 2006 (and I'm not an employee of the ABS, but I'm pretty sure that number would have increased since then).
The trouble with being a small business owner is that your focus is so often internal. You are so caught up with the daily working of your own business that you don't have time to put your head up and see what is going on around you. One way to overcome this isolation is to get involved with networking.
Firstly, what is networking? Well, the way in which people network has changed dramatically through the emergence of the WWW, not to mention social media. However, networking still is, and will always be communicating with like-minded, similar, expert, or experienced individuals and groups who may be of benefit to yourself, mutual benefit, or interested in what you have to offer. Discussions about ideas, thoughts, experience, advice, lessons-learned, mistakes, best practice, innovations, personal life and goals results in each of the involved parties taking something away from the interaction that they didn't have prior. You might be asking yourself, 'Well, what has that got to do with me running my own business?'... To that question I would answer - EVERYTHING.
What do you do when something in your business just isn't working as well as you'd hoped? You'd read a couple of books, maybe run a Google search or two and read all of my amazing blogs (gluttonous self-plug, sorry!) I'm not saying to stop doing any of that, in fact, keep it up! I am advising you to also make use of one of the most priceless resources available - the experience of those that have been there before.
Experience is something money can't buy (yes, this is unfortunate), but it can be sought from those in the know. Having been a member of many networking groups over the years, I can state without a doubt that it was one of the most crucial weekly tasks I performed for my business. Everyone there is in attendance for the same reason: to learn... Or, if you're lucky - purely to mentor others. You know yourself that you have solid skills in some areas and shall we say, inadequate skills in others. This is fine, because all your other networking buddies are in the same boat - that's where the benefit exceeds all expectations. What you don't know, others may... And what they don't know - you might be an absolute expert in!
Another reason to begin networking today is the Internet - no longer do you have to go to an official meeting after work hours, following a long, hard day and sit in an uncomfortable chair with dry, day-old muffins through a 2-hour mostly irrelevant presentation while you try not to fall asleep. Now, you can simply join a group/community online and log on WHEN you like, for AS LONG as you like and ask/read the questions you actually WANT to know.
If you're a Facebook or LinkedIn user, I recommend the group 'Small Business Owners Australia' created as a highly tailored forum to specifically address the needs of SME owners. I post in this group often myself, as I find it is a great way to share and find out current information about our environment and how it affects small businesses. Networking, or sharing ideas with like-minded business owners, really is the way to stay at the top of your game, at the front of your industry and firmly set in the minds of other business owners... Especially if you are in the world of B2B, talking with other business owners is also a means of free promotion! We need to realize we're not alone, so say goodbye to the monkeys and palm trees, grab a paddle and set sail in to the world of online networking.
The trouble with being a small business owner is that your focus is so often internal. You are so caught up with the daily working of your own business that you don't have time to put your head up and see what is going on around you. One way to overcome this isolation is to get involved with networking.
Firstly, what is networking? Well, the way in which people network has changed dramatically through the emergence of the WWW, not to mention social media. However, networking still is, and will always be communicating with like-minded, similar, expert, or experienced individuals and groups who may be of benefit to yourself, mutual benefit, or interested in what you have to offer. Discussions about ideas, thoughts, experience, advice, lessons-learned, mistakes, best practice, innovations, personal life and goals results in each of the involved parties taking something away from the interaction that they didn't have prior. You might be asking yourself, 'Well, what has that got to do with me running my own business?'... To that question I would answer - EVERYTHING.
What do you do when something in your business just isn't working as well as you'd hoped? You'd read a couple of books, maybe run a Google search or two and read all of my amazing blogs (gluttonous self-plug, sorry!) I'm not saying to stop doing any of that, in fact, keep it up! I am advising you to also make use of one of the most priceless resources available - the experience of those that have been there before.
Experience is something money can't buy (yes, this is unfortunate), but it can be sought from those in the know. Having been a member of many networking groups over the years, I can state without a doubt that it was one of the most crucial weekly tasks I performed for my business. Everyone there is in attendance for the same reason: to learn... Or, if you're lucky - purely to mentor others. You know yourself that you have solid skills in some areas and shall we say, inadequate skills in others. This is fine, because all your other networking buddies are in the same boat - that's where the benefit exceeds all expectations. What you don't know, others may... And what they don't know - you might be an absolute expert in!
Another reason to begin networking today is the Internet - no longer do you have to go to an official meeting after work hours, following a long, hard day and sit in an uncomfortable chair with dry, day-old muffins through a 2-hour mostly irrelevant presentation while you try not to fall asleep. Now, you can simply join a group/community online and log on WHEN you like, for AS LONG as you like and ask/read the questions you actually WANT to know.
If you're a Facebook or LinkedIn user, I recommend the group 'Small Business Owners Australia' created as a highly tailored forum to specifically address the needs of SME owners. I post in this group often myself, as I find it is a great way to share and find out current information about our environment and how it affects small businesses. Networking, or sharing ideas with like-minded business owners, really is the way to stay at the top of your game, at the front of your industry and firmly set in the minds of other business owners... Especially if you are in the world of B2B, talking with other business owners is also a means of free promotion! We need to realize we're not alone, so say goodbye to the monkeys and palm trees, grab a paddle and set sail in to the world of online networking.
Implementing this success strategy and tactical superiority in your business will go a long way to helping you succeed in your own business. Greg Roworth is a successful entrepreneur, author and mentor who helps small and medium business owners escape business dependency and create a business that provides an abundant living, lifestyle and legacy.
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