Advice From a Babe - Networking (Part One)

Wendy Tadokoro rang the Brisbane Bizness Babes office last week to share her excitement over networking. She felt so enthused about the importance of networking that she wanted to share her experiences with other Bizness Babes. Well of course we couldn't let that knowledge and passion go to waste! So Wendy has kindly agreed to write a series of articles on the subject for us. Thanks Wendy.

Part One:

If you have just started your business, one of the first challenges you will face is how to let people know you exist. Networking or word of mouth marketing gets a mention on the list of possible marketing activities, it may be one option that you haven’t been too eager to get involved in.

Networking has enormous benefits and should be at the top of your marketing To-Do lists. The results can be huge as long as you can make networking work for you. The marketplace is competitive and the choice for consumers is endless, people want to deal with people they know, like and trust. For me, networking has enabled me to build relationships, get to know and further define my target market, find clients and prospects, gain valuable business advice, learn about other networking opportunities and events, find other businesses to form alliances with, compile a list of reliable business for my own personal use and also to refer to my clients and socialise with like minded business people who are often prepared to be mentors.

Some people say that you should attend networking with a strategic plan in mind; I prefer to go with an open mind as you just never know what opportunities may come your way. You will gain something from every event you attend even it is just something new you have learnt from a guest speaker.

In Part Two of this blog article  I will comment on the different types of networking groups and events that are available.

Wendy Tadokoro
Organising Works!