Principle 1
Get Networking
Last month I mentioned briefly about networking and what to expand on this.
Networking is going out to business breakfasts and meetings and specific networking events to meet many people, swap business cards and help support each other with business leads.
I think networking is an extremely important business activity, but it needs to be done selectively. I am quite a social animal and have really enjoyed going out and networking and meeting interesting people. That in itself served a purpose. It kept my energy high for my business and I would come back with some new ideas. There are lots of networking clubs and groups. Your professional association may well have regional groups that meet, the local chamber of commerce will have meetings and the virtual networking club ecademy http://www.ecademy.com/ will have local meetings.
However did it bring me any business?
No! Not until I was clear about who I needed to network with and collaborate with.
Listed below are guidelines for making the most of networking.
Network with Purpose
Before you sign up for a networking event, think about reason for attending. Decide your goals and what you hope to accomplish. You may not achieve them straight away but thinking this way really gets your prepared and you will improve with networking practice. Often what happens at networking events is that you develop stepping stones to where you want to be.
Goals may be:
· To get ideas for how to run your business
· Find out about opportunities for working in clinics and centres in the community
· Practice giving an elevator pitch (giving a short promotional presentation)
Prepare your pitch
Often at networking events you will be invited to give a short presentation. Grab this opportunity with both hands. In later steps I will be talking about how important public speaking is to your success (and how many people who would rather die than speak in public have become great speakers!).
Practice in front of the mirror at home a one minute presentation clearly stating with warmth and humour why you are the person to book for your particular speciality.
Practice scanning the room and making eye contact and smiling as you speak.
Be prepared
Make sure you arrive on time and are armed with plenty of business cards and promotional flyers. If you’ve booked an event be sure to attend- no dropping out because of nerves ort a better offer or feeling too tired!
Make sure if you promise something to someone that you do the follow up within 48 hours of the event. Remember what goes around, comes around and your success is more likely if you are congruent.
Network and be yourself
People are more like to trust and warm to you if you are sincere and are being yourself. Be interested, listen, be genuine, honest, friendly and giving
Network with a view to giving support and help
When you are networking your thoughts should be on “how can I help” rather than how can I sell my service. If you have this mindset, when you present a particular issue or problem people will want to help you too. So for example, I recently met a woman at an event who I know would really benefit from being in touch with 3 business people I know. I have called them to see if they would be interested in speaking with her and put them together. What I get from that is the satisfaction of helping and knowing that there are other like minded people at networking events who will do the same for me.
Principle 2
Get yourself a mentor
When you start your own business, you definitely will not know absolutely every thing about what it entails to be successful and I would encourage you to get as much help and advice as you can.
You may need financial, marketing, sales, business development, legal or employment advice and for specialist areas I would encourage you to seek advice from the experts.
However there will come a time however when you need someone who is way ahead of the game from you, maybe knows your business or industry and has connections where they can make introductions for you.
Formal mentoring is a powerful development tool that will accelerate the launch, take off and expansion of your business.
I struggled for the first few years of owning Essentials for Health, believing I had all the answers, that the golden egg was around the corner, that I hadn’t done it “properly” unless I’d done it all myself and that I would more proud of my achievements because of my struggle to defeat the odds! Phew what a waste of years! How naïve and how foolish could I be!
Talk to any successful person in business and they’re likely to have not just one mentor but several!
Given that 70% of businesses will fail within their first 3 years and Essentials for Health was nearly one of them be sure that you set yourself up for success by getting the right help and advice.
Choose a mentor who:
Has a huge amount of business experience
You like
You admire and respect
Would like to be more like
Mentoring works best when you have one or more of the following:
Some questions to ask
Problems to solve
A dilemma to discuss
An issue to resolve
An opportunity to consider
A project to plan for
A direction to decide
Use a mentor to help you:
Clarify goals, set targets and ensure you stick to them
Evaluate your successes and failures
Stay on track
Keep on a even keel- the road to success is bumpy and full of trials and tribulations, talking them through with a mentor will turn these challenges into real nuggets of learning and a springboard to move forward from
Develop your business skills and confidence
Keep moving forward
The principle of modeling
Mull over projects/ tasks and provide you with a sounding board
Free Mentoring Trial
Guess what! I provide mentoring and would like to provide you with a free 10 minute telephone mentoring session Call 01628 476100 to arrange.
Gill Tree
Essentials for Health
Essentials for Health, School of Massage and Sports Massage based in Central London, was established in 1992 and is now one of the most reputable and innovative schools in the U.K. Gill Tree is the founder and owner.
The School offers an exceptionally high standard of tuition designed to equip the aspiring Therapist with a broad range of skills. They hold a broad range of courses including professional diplomas in Holistic Massage and Sports Massage and a variety of Masterclasses for qualified therapists. These part time massage courses are run as a weekend massage course or weekday massage course. Most massage courses include an online Anatomy and Physiology course or this can be taken separately.
For further information please visit their website at www.essentialsforhealth.co.uk or call on 01628 476100.
Essentials for Health
2 Dukes Place, Marlow, Bucks. SL7 2QH
Tel: 0845 108 0088
Fax: 0845 108 0527
enquiries@essentialsforhealth.co.uk
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