One of my main focus areas for business marketing this year has been to attend several networking events and get out amongst the people. I felt that not only was this a great way to try and build contacts at the behest of the experts, but it also was a great motivator to get me out of my office and away from my desk.
What I hadn’t counted on was how doing this would make me really think about my business and renew my enthusiasm for running it, as well as giving me some fresh ideas on how to market myself.
Earlier in the year I attended a Small Business Marketing workshop in Sydney. Filled with excitement and enthusiasm I dusted off the work clothes and headed out with the early morning exodus to the city, happy to be out of the office for a day and mixing with actual human beings for a change.
I had chosen this workshop because I wanted to network with other small business owners and I wanted to pick up some tips and ideas that I could use in my business for the benefit of my clients. These were very specific goals. While the topic of the workshop was likely to help me market my own business, it was a secondary reason for going.
But rather than just using the day as a break from the office to meet people, I found the workshop itself made me think carefully about what I was doing in the business, how I could improve my position in the market and how I could change what I offer my clients.
The ideas that had been building up over the day began to formulate themselves into a plan and by the time I arrived home I had developed a new direction for the business and a new way to position myself in the market.
And even better, the next day I was ready to put all of these ideas into action.
It made me appreciate how seminars and workshops are a fantastic business motivator and a great way to get back your focus on what you need to do to keep the momentum of your business going. Even just networking with people who are interested in what you do could be enough to remind you why you’re doing it.
But choosing a seminar or workshop that is directed at an area of your business you know needs focus can really help generate ideas and give you the enthusiasm to act on them.
Many of us have benefited from sharing of ideas at Flying Solo LIVE! and returned to our desks with lots of fresh ideas about running our business, marketing our business and sustaining ourselves within the business.
Naturally you can’t ignore the new business contact opportunities that appear from these events, and I did form some alliances which turned into new business. But this day became more than a networking opportunity, it became a business motivator. It was an injection of fresh ideas and new directions for my business.
Has networking provided unexpected benefits to your business? Tell us about it.
“ I found the workshop itself made me think carefully about what I was doing in the business, how I could improve my position in the market and how I could change what I offer my clients. ”
Karen Morris specialises in business to business communications using clear, straightforward language to deliver the right message directly to an audience.
