Important Ways

Business is all about who you know. Building your network is a lifelong journey, but while some do it the hard way, others take a much easier route by actively facilitating their network as opposed to passively letting it build itself. It takes hard work to build your network, but a few simple tips can help make it more of a fun, natural and genuine process.

Be social

Sounds simple, but be more social! Talk to everyone. When someone needs help, be of service to them. Be friendly. There is a fine line between being social for selfish reasons and being social just for the sake of being social. The main difference is that being selfishly social is easily noticeable by others and will lead people to think you are only making friends for your own personal benefit - which is never a good public persona to have. Be social for the sake of helping others. Try to have an altruistic outlook on life. Before you know it, a solid network will have voluntarily formed around you.

Be prepared

You never know who you will meet. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities present themselves when you least expect them. Sometimes the difference between successful people and those who do not succeed is the fact that those who were successful took advantage of opportunities when they appeared while others dropped the ball. How can you prepare for something that you are not expecting? For starters, you can make sure you always have your business cards with you, you are always dressed well, and you can know your elevator pitch by heart.

Be useful to others

If you have industry knowledge - share it with someone in need. If you can provide some valuable advice to someone, go ahead and provide it. Don't expect anything in return, but people are generally good and remember nice gestures for a very long time. People will eventually see you as an expert in your field willing to help others.

Know the best places to network

Sometimes you need to give yourself the advantage by putting yourself in situations where you have the opportunity to meet intelligent and well-networked individuals. If you know these great places to network, you can constantly put yourself in promising situations. Some examples are airports and universities, but there are many more. If you know the best places to build your network, you have an advantage over others.