Four Important Parts of Networking

What Are Networks?

Networks are there because people are social. A family is the first network you have.  Schools and churches are other networks you have when you are young that can last a lifetime. Then most people make friends and start networking with people they know, a friend of a friend, and acquaintances. You also get that group you don’t like and don’t really get along with. They’re part of your network too.

What Do Networks Do?

 So what do you get from being part of these networks? My Uncle Tony used to say, “You get what you really want from relationships.” I didn’t know what he meant when I was a kid. Since then I’ve slowly realized that whether someone is friend or foe, or someone in between they are part of my network of people. It also means I have some kind of connection with them. If I didn’t matter to them, why would they bother with me at all?

Building Networks

The real question is how do you build networks of people to help you find what you want and hopefully make some friends? A good place to start is your first networks. You can contact family you have fallen out of touch with. Brothers and sisters and cousins you grew up with but haven’t seen in a while. High school reunions are also good places to reconnect with people. I’ve missed mine and stay in contact with family and old friends with Facebook. Getting involved with a local church can help you network with people as well. If you have a bible thumping parent like I do it’s also a good way to make him or her happy.

One way is to find people with common interests. Going to a sports event, like a football game or joining a school club are both good ways to start. People with common interests will be easy to talk to and are likely to help you find what you are looking for. Do you have a hobby like drawing? Find people who want to learn what you know. Teaching people what they want to learn is a good way to build a network. Maybe you want to learn something like sports fishing. Find people who have some skills you want to learn. You are likely to find them interesting and listen to them. You might even make some friends.

If you know people with similar interests you can help them meet up. You can also find a way to help someone you want to network with. These are both ways to show people you can be useful to them. Some people will be too busy to help you with your project, but they will remember who tried to help them.

How I Started Over Networking

I’ve always been a loner and I’m writing about having to learn how to network after the recession hit in 2009 and I lost everything. I lived with my wife in an apartment north of Seattle. We both had good jobs and I was getting an online business off the ground. We were looking to buy a house.

 Then the recession hits and everyone’s customer base get blown out. I managed to get a job on a catcher/processor in Alaska with one of the fishing companies I used to work for, but I couldn’t pay the rent. My wife flew to San Jose, CA to live with her family and I broke the lease on my apartment. I hurt my back on the fishing boat and flew back to Seattle with 8 cartons of cigarettes, some pain pills, and 4oo dollars. I went from having my own business and thinking about buying a house to being on the streets.

Networking with people is how I got help with county assistance programs and churches that help the homeless. It’s how I found doctors and a law office to help me with my SSI Claim, and another lawyer to help me with my bankruptcy and divorce. Now I live with family, cousins I grew up with, and am starting over.

It has taken 7 years to get back close to where I was, and I don’t think I would have made it alone.

I didn’t know networking with people was important until I lost everything. You don’t want to wait until you need people to start networking with them-even if you are a loner.

Sources

Besson, Taunee, CMF. Six Steps for Successful Networking Carreercast.com. Print. Accessed June 9, 2016

Ckark, Dorie How Successful People Network with Each Other. Harvard Business Review. Print. Accessed June 9, 2016

West, Andrew. How to Network the Right Way: Eight Tips. Forbes/Entrepeneurs. Print. Accessed June 9, 2016

About Me

I was a Construction worker and Commercial Fisherman. An injury on a fishing boat forced me into early retirement. Now I write and post blogs. Having to start over forced me to realize people are more than their job title. Check out my blog at http://markblevins1.blog.com/