Fuzz or what?
Social networking is one of those hot must-do things of the modern entrepreneur. An encyclopediaful of contacts sure looks impressive and seems like an endless source for anything you could ever ask for. But is it really worth it? Could just a handful of right kind of contacts be more useful than an undetermined mass of people?
There are millions of ways to expand your network. Basically it’s just communication. You can start by stepping out of the door and starting to talk to people. Active blogging, for one, will gather you a flock of likeminded fellows. Even a t-shirt can speak for you, if you are too shy to say anything.
Becoming a polar point in your network
Getting what you want begins with determining what you want. To gather a social network of your dreams, you will need to define the people you would like to have within your reach. Write a detailed description of your dream contacts. Let your imagination weave your network crew as perfect as you could possibly ever tolerate. Draw the figures of your future friends, draft their life stories and place them somewhere in this world. How do these people help you on your way? What skills they have that you need? How would you co-operate? What do you offer in return?
Determining what or who you want will help you aim your attention and communication to the right direction. You will be consciously and subconsciously observing the possibilities more accurately. It’s essential to be able to recognize the people you are looking for.
Declare your desire to the world
Speak your mind in any way you can. You could, for example…
- Make an advertisement, for example “looking for entrepreneur partners”. Print it out and stick it to every wall you come across.
- Create a web page, and link to it at the status message of your instant messenger or Facebook.
- Talk to your friends and see if they know anyone matching the description in your wishlist.
Use any means and medium you can think of and ask your pals for extra supplies when your idea stock runs out. The key is to let the world know what you want
If you want to build a network that is actually helping you to gain your business goals, I suggest that you take some time to draft your ideal social network. I bet you could gain more with some professional collaborators. Think out of the box – don’t limit yourself to the status quo, or let pessimism determine your possibilities. Have multiple ultimately wonderful scenarios to choose from.
Books that inspired this post
- Seminar by Tom Peters
- Benchlearning by Bengt Karlöf
- Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne
- Creating a company for Customers by Malcolm McDonald, Martin Christopher, Simon Knox, Jane Simms
- Blogit ja Bloggaaminen (in Finnish) by Tuomas Kilpi
- Many-to-Many-markkinointi by Evert Gummesson, Taija Haapaniemi
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I needed this post. Thank you Joona.