If networking is easier than ever then everyone must be doing it, right? Wrong. Don't ask me why because it makes no sense not to. If you're sitting there right now and asking yourself if you're networking to your full potential, then go to the following sites and set up accounts: Facebook.com, Twitter.com, Gmail.com, and Blogspot.com. Once you have all of them set up you may feel like it's a lot to manage effectively. Go to TweetDeck.com and download that to your desktop or to Google Chrome (my favorite web browser). TweetDeck will allow you to set up your Facebook profile, page, and group next to your Twitter profiles for easy access to everything you need. I actually came across this today and have loved it so far. It is much more efficient than similar programs. (A lot of people use foursquare as well, but I'm just getting used to it. Maybe it will work great for you!)
By now hopefully you have all of your social networking methods developed and have started communicating with people or companies who have similar interests. You're not even close to being done. Now it's time to look around you. An empty Powerade bottle and TV isn't what I'm talking about. I mean the people that you associate with on a daily basis. You're a young entrepreneur so they're most likely students, professors, young professionals, business people, and other entrepreneurs. It's great to have these kinds of relationships, but it's the balance of these relationships that is most important. I've finally found the balance that works best for me. Here's how it works.
-Being around students too much can lead to making student decisions. Not that all student decisions are bad, but most students don't think too far past the weekend. Be sure to prioritize. I keep a schedule on Google Calendars and each Sunday night look at what I need to accomplish that week.
-Professors are an incredible asset that often goes overlooked. I've talked about this before, but if you have a good professor (which can be hard to find at times) don't be afraid to go up to them after class and talk to them. E-mail is a non-confrontational way to set up an appointment or ask a question, too.
-Young professionals are awesome people to get to know. A lot of times (especially in a city like Atlanta) they have a cool job or good knowledge to share. It's easy to find things in common if you're a hard worker and like I always say, you are who you surround yourself with. These are the people that have their life on track for the most part, but don't have families and other things going on.
-Business people are good ways to get references and jobs. Yes, young entrepreneurs need jobs while they work on their startups. Especially if you're bootstrapping like a lot of us. Business people are also good to be around because often times they have really nice things. I don't know about you, but when I see someone who has worked hard doing something similar to me with a nice car and nice house it inspires me to work even harder. Hard work always pays off in the end.
-Last, but not least, entrepreneurs are my favorite kind of people to associate with. These are driven, focused, excited, and overall fun people to be around. The entrepreneurial spirit is a kind of bond that is established right away. Entrepreneurs always do whatever they can for each other. I have three friends from college that have spoken to me about business ideas that they have in the last month or two. I told every one of them that I will do whatever they need me to help. Yes, I have a million different things going on, but honestly it's what I love doing. Hopefully you know the feeling. It's an awesome one.
Although everyone has a different personality, most entrepreneurs are fairly outgoing. One of my favorite things to do is meet people. I've almost always been a salesman as a job so I'm used to interacting with people that I don't know. For young entrepreneurs an airport is a perfect place to network this way. Whether waiting to go through security, waiting at the terminal before your flight, or on the airplane you can meet some really interesting people. Oh, and if you plan on doing this please don't wear a t-shirt and sweats. Dress for success.
I've been seeing more and more interest every day. Twitter has been a great tool for this group. Expect the first meetup to be in August. Date, time, and location are all to be determined. Keep spreading the word for me!
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BPL
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