The Value of Creating a Powerful Network

The Value and Benefits of Building Your Network

If you’re starting a business or own a business or you are wanting a raise, looking for a new career or just wanting to up your game, you’ll want to increase the value of your network. You need people more than they need you. No one ever achieves their true potential or goals alone.

The people you know are the people that help you grow. Being able to discern who is going to help you grow and who is going to hold you back is important. It isn’t a good idea to just run out and find the five richest, coolest, smartest or well-connected people. Each person in your network should serve a specific purpose that brings a new piece of self-improvement to the table.

Join a Masterminds Group

This is a group of like-minded individuals who are on the same path as you and who can provide you with Insights, advice, constructive criticism and valuable input. Masterminds groups are the coordination of knowledge and effort of many people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony. Ben Franklin had a Masterminds Group and the two questions he asked the group were: “Who is thriving & why?” and “How can they be emulated?” Mastermind groups are relatively new to most people. A mastermind group is designed to help you navigate through business challenges using the collective intelligence of others.

Always Have a Coach

I have several coaches: A Business Coach, an Accountability Coach, a Financial Coach, and a Life Coach.  No matter what, they always seemed to ride us, so we never stopped reaching for our goals and success.

They were rough, sure, and they kept us motivated with tough love. They also taught us how to thrive with a ‘fail fast’ mentality. Whenever we missed a target or goal, they would provide you with techniques and skills to correct the mistake. Or, they would continue to put us in the same situation until our results improved. Coaches be incredible motivators for our lives and businesses. Everything in business is learning, failing, reorganizing and trying again. When the game gets tough, these are the types of people you want to have in your corner. Coaches come from a desire for improvement and excellence. They are the best people for rousing us to reach beyond our potential, regardless of our preconceived limits. The coach doesn’t care that we’re tired, that we have a ton of work to do—they want us in the game giving 110 percent.

A Wise Mentor

Wise mentors greatly differ from coaches. Wise mentors are slower to voice their opinion and more considerate when offering advice. Ideally, they’re someone who has been in our shoes, fought similar battles and came out with some incredible insight. They are the ones who exemplify what is possible and help us get there too. Seeking the guidance of a wise mentor or two could be one of the best decisions you will ever make—many very successful people owe a lot of their success to their mentors. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg—one of the most successful women in business and technology today—has always known the importance of a good mentor. She attributes a lot of her good choices in life to her former professor, who she ended up working for she has called him her first and most important mentor.

Find people who are successful in the business area you are interested in and emulate what they do. Ask them to mentor you, to share their advice, and learn from their mistakes. A mentor is someone you look up  to and admire, someone you aspire to be like. Your mentor may be in your network already—you may just need to dedicate the time to find them.

Find an Allied Resource

Your allies get you, but more importantly, they get “it”. The ally will most likely be a person who is a part of a peer group. around our age and holds similar goals. Because of that, they understand your grind, struggle, feelings of rejection and triumph. Allies are there for support. They are people who will go out of their way to help and proactively think about our best interests. Whenever we’re in a bind, we can call on them and they’ll come running to our side. Having an ally around us helps remind us why we do what we do in the first place. When we grind away with an ally, we double our capacity to handle what comes our way, keeping us motivated for the road ahead.

The Connector

This person seems to know everyone. They are the center of every party, organizer of every event and an endless source of connections. The connector will not always be your closest ally, and they might not know us as intimately as we wish they did. Connectors care more about the number of people they know, not how well they know them. We want connectors in our network because of their ability to create introductions.  We never know who we might meet — our next partner, significant other, or big client. Malcolm Gladwell talks about the importance of connectors his book Outliers:

“These people who link us up in the world…who introduce us to our social circles – these people on whom we rely more heavily than we realize – are Connectors, people with a special gift for bringing the world together.”

Connectors help us create situations where our own networks can expand by exposing us to social circles we were previously unaware of. Being connected is the quickest way for you to get closer to the center of a new social network and have the ability to meet more people.

The Challenger

This person is always there when we need a swift kick in the butt. We all need people in our lives that will help us think outside the box and break through our fears and challenges. The Challenger says things like “I don’t agree” or “so what?” won’t nod their head in agreement as we lay out our next plan. They’ll challenge us to reconsider. They will dissent, offer different points of view, challenge our thinking and our methodology.

Add Some Names to Your Network

Try an email swap with other business owners.  Ask them if they will send out an email promoting you and your business, and you will do the same for them.  If you don’t already have a large network, what are the values and favors you can reciprocate with for them. Evaluate your friends, acquaintances, coworkers, family or friends of friends. You may have overlooked someone who was a great challenger because they were too quick to argue with you. You may have missed a great coach because you wanted to protect your feelings. Most likely, these people are right in front of you, but you never realized it because you didn’t know what to look for. If your current network isn’t revealing any good leads, it’s time to look outward. Search for good people at organized networking events, in mentoring groups or online. LinkedIn’s new feature, Career Advice was designed to help you match with a group of people that are there to help you.

Also, networking events are still important and a good source of connecting. You should be participating in at least 1-2 networking and business groups or associations a week.  Sponsorships are very important. Sponsor these events and ask for time on the agenda to speak even if it’s only for 10-15 minutes.  Give away something of value for FREE at the event, a White Paper, something useful and informative.

We Need Each Other

The bottom line is that people need people. We need each other. We learn and grow from each other. Build yourself a Tribe of successful woman who are there to support you and cheer you on. The tribes we put ourselves in and the people we spend time with will determine your success and your evolution. Only spend time with other successful people. The quality of the people you surround yourself with, will determine the quality of your success.

Success Strategies from Andrea Swensen CEO of Success Strategies4U.com and HelloBeautifulLadies.com a website for the empowerment of women. Author, Award Winning International Speaker and Sales & Success Strategist