While it’s easier today than ever before to earn a living as a self-employed entrepreneur, being successful at it is not always as easy as one might think. In today’s fast paced, social media driven world, many entrepreneurs get sucked into believing that they can just hit a button or “do this one trick” and voila! – their business is an instant success.
Most of us have heard the saying “Your net worth is determined by your network”. Whether your business provides a product or a service, your number one growth strategy should be building meaning, mutually beneficial relationships. Nothing can take the place of this very important philosophy! Even if your business is primarily online, you should still find a way to build relationships. Fact is, people do business with who they like and who they are comfortable with.
When I say that your most important asset as a business owner is your network, I do not mean your virtual network! I am referring to people you actually know and work with in real life. These are the relationships that actually make a difference and can achieve great things. I believe that one real relationship is worth far more than social media likes or followers. Most successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to a great network of real life relationships.
If you belong to tons of social media groups, and you think you can grow your business by posting a few links every day, you will be disappointed. Worse yet, going to tons of networking events and shoving your business card into everyone’s hand without really trying to get to know them will be a total waste of time and will probably do you more harm than good.
Even with ecommerce, most sales transactions are still between two human beings. Every significant transaction involves a buyer and a seller, not to mention all the product development and pre- and post-sales support. Buyer behavior is mostly subjective and relationships are a big factor – the best product doesn’t necessarily win. In a service business, relationships are the biggest factor.
I am not suggesting that we should not leverage technology such as social media, search engine techniques and the like, but if you believe you can successfully grow a business with just these tools without leveraging REAL relationships, you are mistaken and it will soon catch up with you.
A Forbes article called, “The Importance of Relationship Building in the Digital Age” suggests you take a few minutes and identify 25 people who can help you move your business forward. Put them on a list and block time in your calendar to reach out and schedule meet-ups with them. This could be a formal meeting, coffee appointment, or going out for happy hour.
Building mutually beneficial relationships takes time and a genuine desire to connect. It may seem slow going at first – like watching grass grow. You can’t see anything happening but one day you wake up to a beautiful lawn.
Some people call it a long sale-cycle or delayed gratification. Call it whatever you like, but here’s what I know – it works!
