Grow Your Business Online

Raising your business profile is a breeze if you have the right networks, but networking the right way is often overlooked. There are many options for plugging into networks without breaking the bank.

The brief for this article was to find free ways to market your business. Networking seemed the obvious place to start. And while it’s not entirely free, it doesn’t have to cost much, and you don’t need bullet-proof confidence to get started.

Before looking at cost-effective solutions, we need to stamp out some popular misconceptions. Some people forget that networking is more than just handing out business cards and mingling at the pub. Networking is one of the necessities of growing your business, yet it’s become a dirty word. Why?

“There are a lot of people who mistreat networking and give it a bad name because they’re all about trying to get business out of it, rather than trying to think more abundantly about it,” says Carolyn Stafford, founder of Connect Marketing. “Networking is really about trying to build relationships, meeting people with shared values who have complementary businesses. It’s about meeting others so you can give without the expectation of receiving, being able to connect with other people, learning what other business owners are doing, and it’s very much about meeting people you hit it off with.”

Having built her business on networking, she is sure it is the way to grow. “I got to know thousands of business owners in complementary fields. It really is how my whole business evolved,” says Stafford. “The only thing your competition can’t emulate is the quality of the relationships you have.” It is also easier to work with people you know, like, and trust. And how’s this done? Through networking, by getting out there and meeting new people.

People Power

Another example of using networking to build a business is Lara Fletcher, director of LaRoo, the maker of Mocks mobile phone accessories. She also believes building relationships is essential. “I know that everyone says yeah, yeah, but it really is the key way to build a business,” says Fletcher. And she would know, having recently launched her second business—GrowCo, a website to help small businesses expand their networks. “If you have good relationships with people, then you have a really great support network. One of the hardest things about being in business on your own is that you don’t have peers at your level to bounce ideas off. If you go out and network, and build relationships with people, then you have that.”

Fletcher experienced firsthand the benefits of having a wide network when she was launching GrowCo. Needing advice on creating a survey, she turned to a close friend she met through networking, who owned her own market research company. “You’ve got to look at it as more than just something to generate sales and profit,” says Fletcher. “It’s not necessarily putting money straight into the box, but over time it will.”

Word-of-mouth from your networks also has its benefits. “With the Mocks business, a lot of people I meet might buy Mocks themselves. They’re not going to buy hundreds of thousands, but they talk to other people,” explains Fletcher, again underlining the importance of relationships. “If people hear about you, and like you, then they’ll recommend you to others.”

One of the easiest ways to build relationships and get your name out there is also the cheapest. Fletcher recommends networking with friends. “They all know about what I do,” she says. “Some of them practically hand out my business cards.”

Pooling Ideas

While Stafford is an advocate of spending to receive, she recommends social and informal networks for those who don’t immediately have the budget. Informal networks are those you have through personal and social interests, whether it is an art class or your child’s day-care centre. “If people are interested in what you do and vice versa, there’s an opportunity for you to do business together,” she says. “And that’s really the way the world operates.”

Another option is establishing a mastermind group. The group is made up of like-minded business owners who meet regularly and have a structured networking meeting, explains Stafford.

Those with a slightly larger budget can join an already established group. These groups have membership fees, but they often host other events as well.

Fletcher makes every effort to attend a networking event once a week or fortnight, depending on her schedule. As a member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network (ABN), this is not difficult. She had a stand for GrowCo at ABN’s last expo. Also a member of the American Chamber of Commerce, she attends the wide variety of events they host, her favourite being speed networking.

Similar to speed dating, each person has two minutes to talk, before dropping their business card and moving on. “It’s a good one for confidence-building,” she says. It gives her the ability to practice her elevator pitch, which is basically telling someone about yourself and your business in the time an elevator ride takes. Though the night’s pace is quite fast, Fletcher makes sure to follow up and keep in touch with all relevant contacts.