SCORE
YOUR BUSINESS GOALS
-- May 15/07
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In
This Issue…
-
The
Importance of Networks
-
Tip:
How to Improve Your Network
-
Humour:
Dealing With Stress
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The
Importance of Networks
=============================================
People
are important to all businesses. Businesses need
employees.
Businesses
need clients. Businesses need suppliers.
As
businesses switch to au
tom
ated vendor selection systems, au
tom
ated
response
mechanisms and endless streams of e-mail, relationships are
becoming
more important than ever.
So,
as the world becomes more au
tom
ated, social networks are becoming
more
prevalent. The internet has spawned many tools for
social networking,
like
YouTube, FaceBook
and instant messaging. There are also forums,
news
groups and chat groups to bring like-minded people together.
How
do networks help business people grow and flourish?
Strength
– Rather than going to market with a new product or service,
a
network
can be used as a source to get feedback. The network
could also
generate
ideas that you had never thought of. Why re-invent the
wheel?
Use
the power of groups to move forward quicker.
Expansion
– The old adage states there are only six degrees of
separation
between
any two people. If you’re looking to expand your
product line or
to
break into new markets, the bigger your network is, the
quicker you can
reach
the people needing your new products, or in the new markets.
With
communication
and transportation costs at all-time low costs, it’s now
more
a case of who
to contact, rather than how
to contact them. The
network
can definitely help with the who.
Employment
Changes – You can be the best in your field, but what good
is
that
if nobody knows about it? Maybe you’ve outgrown your
current position,
or
maybe your company has lost a contract due to changes in
government.
If
you do find yourself looking for a change, a network can speed
up the
word
on the street. Similarly, you can also use your network
to find good
employees
when the need arises.
Financial
Gains – Businesses are growing and expanding through
various
ways Many businesses are looking to add cus
tom
ers through
fancy
financial measures, such as bartering. That is, they may
sell natural
resources
to cash-strapped companies that have an abundance of
inventory.
So, they will trade their natural resources for the
company’s
inventory,
on the condition that a third party will purchase the second
company’s
inventory. This can be much easier to do if you
have
a
large network which includes both suppliers and purchasers of
various
products. The more options you have to sell products or
services,
the better your financial gains will be.
=============================================
Tip:
How to Improve Your Network
=============================================
To
make your network more effective, you should first take stock
of
where it currently stands. Who is in your network?
How many
people
would answer the phone if they know it’s you? How many
people
would help you if they knew you had a problem that needs
solving?
How many people would you respond to and help?
Once
you’ve taken stock of the size and strength of your network,
examine
your business goals. Who, or what type of people, do you
need
in your network to score your business goals quicker and
easier?
Take
out a piece of paper, or open a document on your computer,
and
write down the categories for clients, employees, suppliers,
media,
etc. to outline who you need in your network to score your
goals.
Write
in the names of the people who are currently both in your
network
and
fit those categories, and then record the strength of your
relationship
with
them.
To
increase the size of your network, meet more people.
Determine
who
it is that you can build relationships with, and then look for
opportunities
to meet with them. There are many networking groups
in
every town. Research those in your town, and determine
which
ones
will help you out. If there don’t seem to be any
groups in your
area,
start a new one! Declare a format, meeting place and
time, and
then
invite people to join your group. There are also
millions, literally,
of
Yahoo groups, chat groups, newsgroups and forums to discuss
any
topic you could possibly be interested in. If you
can’t find an
online
group, then start one!
To
increase the strength of your network, add more value to the
relationship.
Everyone has a relative who only calls when they need
something.
The person will be a total stranger until they phone you
at
11 pm on a weekend asking for money or help or whatever.
I’m sure
you
know the type. Wouldn’t you be more likely to help,
and at an earlier
stage,
if you were in constant communication with this relative?
Even
more
so, if the person had shown an interest in you, and helped you
out
in some way? To strengthen your business network, look
at who
you
want a stronger relationship with. Then, determine a
method
of
adding value to the relationship. Perhaps, you could
send a
newspaper
or magazine article of interest to the person, with some
personal
notes on the side. Or you could bring them to a
networking
event
that you think would help them. Maybe a phone call,
or getting
together
for lunch would strengthen the relationship.
In
computer networks, there is a term called ping. One node
will try
to
ping the other node to see if the path is still alive. If
the path is valid,
the
pinged node will respond with an “I am Here” message.
So both
nodes
know that the network is still alive.
Go
ping your network today, and see how alive it really is.
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Humour:
Dealing With Stress
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“The
reason worry kills more people than work is that more people
worry than work”,
Robert
Frost
