Making Connections
Networking means businessAlready working an average of 59 hours per week, today's small business owner doesn't have time to waste at ineffective business networking events. ROGER PIERCE |
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 [ 2006-03-22 ] |
From left to right: Brian Persaud, Nicole McCance and Eric Gilbert connect entrepreneurs through their company YourPNA.
"In the GTA, an entrepreneur could attend different networking functions every morning, noon and night," entrepreneur Eric Gilbert says. "There are literally hundreds of business organizations, clubs, associations and groups in Toronto all offering business events."
Gilbert is a partner in Your Professional Networking Association (www.yourpna.ca), a company that organizes and hosts dynamic monthly business networking events in the GTA.
"We focus on creating fun and effective ways to connect people, using salsa lessons, live jazz or arm badges," says partner Brian Persaud. "After each event, we contact every guest to discover what they liked and didn't like in order to improve future functions."
The entrepreneurs do their best to "work the room," studying up on the biographies of each guest and physically introducing people who share common interests, needs or objectives.
YourPNA includes a trade show at each of their monthly events, enabling guests to obtain more visibility by setting up an exhibit. "We create a forum where entrepreneurs can solve problems, build bridges, relieve pain, make introductions, have fun and learn from a world- class speaker," partner Nicole McCance says.
Gilbert says the company faces plenty of competition. "Toronto is one of the greatest cities in the world when it comes to networking," he says. "To our knowledge, no other city has so many networking groups. Our goal is to combine all of the great features of these different groups and bring them all together into one giant monthly event."
Full of contagious energy, these youthful entrepreneurs aim to build their small business into a big one. "Our goal is to stage events in 100 different cities every month," McCance says.
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NETWORKING TIPS
You will meet thousands of people throughout your small business career, most likely while attending a business event, seminar, trade show or conference. Want to know how to convert contacts into business relationships? Remember these networking tips:
- Prepare your "30-second commercial." You only have one chance to make a good first impression. Write, edit and rehearse a short summary of what your business does, who you serve and why people love to deal with you.
- Take notes. Write down the gist of your conversation with a new contact on the back of their business card. Refer to your chat when you follow up.
- Focus on one objective per event. Contrary to popular belief, your goal isn't to hand out as many business cards as possible. Your goal for any business networking event should be to meet one supplier, meet one colleague or meet one prospect.
- Keep it short and sweet. Don't engage a new business contact for 10 minutes. Give them a brief introduction to you and your business, and let them do the same. You'll have time to expand on what you do during post-event follow up.
- Follow up. What you say isn't as important as what you do. Within a few days, be sure to contact each person to arrange a coffee, informal meeting or phone call to explore a business relationship.
Would you ever work for a social or charitable enterprise in the third sector?