Social Networking for Entrepreneurs

One thing is clear:  Social networking fuels business success. Whether you're starting from the ground up, or you're running an established business, social networking is the lifeblood of your success. That's why a study by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship describes networks as "essential links" for entrepreneurs, because of the wide range of resources that they provide:

Networks are essential because they link entrepreneurs to potential sources of capital, new employees, strategic alliance partners, and service providers . . . Through networks, entrepreneurs share information and assessments of markets and technology as well as lessons learned from their own experience. These links are absolutely essential if a growing company is going to travel at entrepreneurial speed.

Social networking means building the social network that can do all those things--and more.

Social networking is like effective investing. Just as your investment portfolio should sustain you over the long haul, through changing market conditions, your social network must provide the resources you need in all aspects of your life, through all the stages. Social networking means building the social network that can support you, now and in the future, in your work and your life. If your network can't do that, then you need a new networking strategy.

What is the Goal of Social Networking?

It's become increasingly clear that the old model of social networking has failed--which is why a recent issue of Entrepreneur magazine discussed the increasing social isolation of American workers. We can't be productive if we don't have anyone to talk to about our lives and work, if we don't have anyone to pick up a child from soccer if we're held late in a meeting, if we don't have anyone on whom to call in a crisis.

To do those things, to be truly productive, we need to network effectively. We have to build our worlds--balanced social networks that not only fuel our success but also sustain us along the way.

That means moving beyond the old, '80s model of social networking. Social networking means more than just building business contacts and generating referrals--although that's certainly key to effective networking. Social networking also means adding to that the personal contacts who sustain our lives and will be there help us through a crisis or a disaster.

The New Model of Social Networking

At Optinet Resources, we have the new model of social networking. We know what social networks can do, we've documented the power of social networking for over 25 years. We know that a good social network can help you survive a disaster, like Katrina; build your business; cope with divorce or the death of a loved one; help you put the pieces back together if your business takes a downturn; help you find workers in a tight labor market; juggle work and family more effectively; provide the social support to see you through a serious illness; and help you cope with the stress of everyday life.

Social networking doesn't have to be a mystery any longer. You don't have to wonder what social networking is, worry about whether you've built an effective social network, or think that the skills of social networking are beyond your reach. We can show you what social networking is and help you craft a strategy, tailored to your needs.  And as part of that strategy, we can incorporate Web 2.0 or social media coaching, tailored to your needs and those of your busienss.

Want to know more about social networking? Click on the links to find out about our online network assessment tool, the most sophisticated available, or to check out our personal coaching services, backed by our credentials and informed by our decades of research.

[1] National Commission on Entrepreneurship. 2000. “Building Companies, Building Communities:  Entrepreneurs in the New Economy,” pp. 17-18; emphasis added.