Networking is one thing—going to events and parties in hopes that you can meet more people and spread the word about your home business. It is quite another thing to look at your business relationships with some strategy. ‘Who’ should you meet and get to know and where can you go to meet them? ‘Who’ can really help you in your business and what is the best way to go about not only establishing, but also building and solidifying that relationship?
It may seem somehow tricky or manipulative to have a strategy when it comes to business relationships, but it definitely does not have to be that way. I am not really talking about stalking or trying to trick people into doing business with you, but more about simply putting some thought into how best to network and expand your business contacts with a plan or goal in mind.
For example, let us say that you would like to get your property re-zoned so that you can expand your business operations and keep them in your home. You can go to the library and research the process and then start writing letters and making phone calls to the appropriate parties and then wait and see what happens. On the other hand, you can do all that research and determine who are the key people who can help you with your project or cause and then put energy into meeting and getting to know THEM. This can save you time, and help you to learn more about the inner workings of the process at the same time. Meanwhile, you are meeting interesting people who may turn out to be long-term friends or at least colleagues and/or contacts. As long as you are up front, honest and trustworthy and not trying to trick people into working with you, it is a perfectly legitimate way to strategize around meeting and knowing the right people.