Welcome everyone to the 34th episode of Professor P's Podcast. Welcome to this month’s entrepreneurial tip. The topic for this show is NETWORKING, there is great power in your network. It is a key to the foundation of being an EMPOWERED entrepreneur and one who lives an EMPOWERED life.

“Networking is an investment in your business. It takes time and when done correctly can yield great results for years to come.”—Diane Helbig

According to the Oxford dictionary, networking is defined as “interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts...it’s so important to network when starting a new business.” What I love is that even the dictionary states how important it is for startups to network.

There are over 7 billion people on the planet, each one holding a key. Many of them have a key you need. It is important to find them and obtain the key. It is the only key that unlocks the door that you were called to walk through. Far too often, we take for granted how important people are, especially as we become even more dependent on technology. But as you will see when I address the power of human capital, we are nothing without people.

When building your network, you want to think about your target market and then build a circle around them. Start by identifying who they are. Once you’ve accomplished that, I need you to identify where they might be, who might work with them, who might serve them. Here is an example: a large target for me is the underserved. I am here for them. So, I need to build my network with social services that care for the underserved. Then, I’m able to work with my target market and be paid for the work I do. My network needs to be built with nonprofits, county department of health and welfare, and the like. That means I need to be at networking events where underserved people will be attending. You understand? I’m making connections outside of my direct target. The same is true for you.

Your homework: I want you to make a list of the important contacts in your network. These will be individuals who may provide information to you, advice, inspiration, encouragement, and the like. When you write them down, you can note what it is that you get from each person. What value does the exchange you have with them bring to your life? Then, I want you to note next to their name who introduced you to them. How was it that you met? If you introduced yourself to them, then just put “me.” In networking, there are brokers, and if you are familiar with what brokers do, they connect. In real estate, they connect buyers to sellers. My dear friend Henry Einstein, who wrote the foreword for my book Startup to Success, is a real estate broker and a powerful connector. This young man is a business genius, and he is able to not only connect buyers to sellers, but his ability to network is out of this world. Today, he has a strong network of individuals who have influence, affiliations, wealth, and power. For the purpose of this activity, the person who connected you with your contact is the broker. You are going to need to find out who your brokers are. If you see “me” appear too many times, you know that you have an inbred network. Diversity is extremely important to your network. Please make sure to build a diverse network so that you don’t get caught up in group thinking. No more inbred networks!

In an article titled “How to Build Your Network,” which was featured in the Harvard Business Review, Brian Uzzi and Shannon Dunlap write: “According to our studies, if you’ve introduced yourself to your key contacts more than 65% of the time, then you’re probably building your network using the self-similarity principle and your network may be too inbred. The self-similarity principle states that, when you make network contacts, you tend to choose people who resemble you in terms of experience, training, worldview, and so on. We have found that executives, in particular, disproportionately use the self-similarity principle to build their networks. Obviously, it is easier to trust someone who views the world through the same lens you do; you expect that person to act as you would in ambiguous situations. What’s more, working with people who share your background is often very efficient: You both recognize concepts that allow you to transfer information quickly, and you are less likely to challenge one another’s ideas. Finally, like-minded people will usually affirm your point of view and, as a result, gratify your ego. Too much similarity restricts your access to discrepant information, which is crucial to both creativity and problem solving. If all your contacts think the way you do, who will question your reasoning or push you to expand your horizon? And because, over time, people tend to introduce their contacts to one another so that everyone becomes friends, the similarity of thought and skill reverberates, creating what we call an echo chamber.”

If you don’t have a network, you can build one! Start with LinkedIn. It is built for the business world, and you can start building right there. I am currently experiencing the power of LinkedIn’s networking power. As I prepare for my transition to San Diego, I must build a new network there. LinkedIn has been instrumental in connecting me to super connectors and the opportunities are overflowing before me. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, then that is also your homework. Make sure to connect with me. Outside of online social networking building opportunities you can show up to mixers and business events. Go to conference. Get out and experience what the beautiful business world has to offer you. Talk to people. Listen to people genuinely.

Some final notes on networking, I want you to understand you are building trust. Therefore, you must be a trustworthy person and do right by people. Bad business, no matter how long the run, will always end in destruction. Do yourself a favor and do right by people. Make sure you are a person of your word. If you say you will do something, then do it. If you make a contact at an event and you tell them you will be contacting them, you should honor your word. You never know when you are being linked to a broker who could link you to your next big break. I need you to make networking a priority and understand it requires you to invest your time. You cannot build your business alone. Even if you are going to be a sole proprietor, you are still an empowered entrepreneur, which means you understand that you need people on your team and you need to make finding and connecting with them a priority. I want your efforts in networking to be sincere. I want you to be a person who is confident in who they are and the purpose they have to offer this world. I want you to be heart centered and understand that you have power in the position of humility. This will be instrumental in your success. And remember success is not a secret, it is a system.

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