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Tag: Keeping Connected

  • Why Networking Is a Must for Successful Entrepreneurs | Entrepreneur

    Why Networking Is a Must for Successful Entrepreneurs | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Despite its widespread recognition as a valuable tool for entrepreneurs, many individuals still struggle to use networking effectively. Starting and running a business can be both exhilarating and intimidating, and it’s easy for founders to get consumed by the day-to-day tasks of running their company. Personally, it wasn’t until I started dedicating time and effort to building my network that I realized the full potential of what my business could achieve.

    After devoting time to connecting with other entrepreneurs, I established valuable relationships with potential investors who believed in my business and provided the necessary support and funding to take it to the next level. I’m sure building a network of connections is not just an optional activity for entrepreneurs but a vital tool that can lead to new opportunities, partnerships, and growth. Here are some tips on organizing your network effectively and with minimal time consumption.

    Related: Want to Earn Trust? Don’t Break Any of These 4 Links in the Chain of Credibility.

    So, what can one get from networking?

    There is a specificity of networking among entrepreneurs – it appears to be much more effective. People in our community are often aware of the benefits that connection can bring and are more readily open to building mutually beneficial relationships, which is done by:

    1. Establishing valuable connections with potential investors. I list this opportunity as the most important because finding investments is indeed one of the most challenging tasks for an entrepreneur. The personal connection allows you to build relationships with individuals who can provide support much more effectively than reaching out to them as a “cold” audience.
    2. Expanding your knowledge and learning from other founders and professionals. Exchanging best practices with people who are not your direct competitors but are present in the same region as you are or have a similar type of business in another market provides you with precious insights. You can learn from their experiences, pick up new ideas, and stay up-to-date on industry trends.
    3. Gaining access to partnerships and collaborations. In the case of B2B, people are four times more likely to purchase a solution from someone they know themselves or their friends recommended. So being open to new connections may significantly broaden your business opportunities.
    4. Building your personal brand and increasing business exposure. Apart from helping you at the moment, establishing a connection with someone can be extremely beneficial for you later on. The chance of that is higher the more you show your expertise and interact. You never know what will happen with the person you once met at a conference — maybe they will launch a successful business or become famous someday.

    Without establishing connections, each of these actions might take much longer and be more challenging. But when you get to know the person who can help you, you will reach your goals almost naturally.

    Related: 3 Powerful Networking Strategies that Never Fail

    How to make networking most effective

    The main thing to understand about networking is that it’s a two-way street. To be truly effective, it must be mutually beneficial for both parties involved. It’s not enough to be confident when approaching others, which is probably the most common advice for those looking to master this skill. To make the most of your networking efforts, it’s important to focus on building strong relationships, which requires dedicated time and effort.

    So, when choosing who to network with, it’s important to consider what you can offer in return. Think about the skills and expertise you can share, and seek out individuals who you can help and who can help you. Building relationships based on mutual respect and a give-and-take mentality will result in stronger, more meaningful connections. For example, it’s a bad idea to start the connection by asking for help. Rather, I prefer to explain how I can help the person and why the relationship would be mutually beneficial.

    One way to build strong relationships is to dedicate time each week to focus specifically on helping others. For me, it’s two hours weekly, during which I interact with people exclusively to help them. For example, have lunch with an entrepreneur who contacts you on LinkedIn or participate in an event organized by someone you know.

    Of course, it’s impossible to contact everyone, so one should focus on the potential value they will get. If a person contacts you first, I suggest you create a set of rules to follow when thinking of them or not. Personally, I pay attention to the following:

    • The size of the business: Founders of early-stage startups will find business books more useful for themselves and are unlikely to help me in return.
    • The industry: As an EdTech entrepreneur, I usually agree to meet people within the industry. However, this approach may vary depending on your goals and amount of free time.

    Make it easier for you

    Networking can be challenging for entrepreneurs for a variety of reasons. Some may feel intimidated approaching new people, or some may find it ineffective. However, the most common challenge is that one may have limited time and resources to dedicate to networking activities, making it difficult to balance with other responsibilities. By following these tips, you can reap the benefits of investing in networking:

    1. Start by participating in industry events and conferences, even if you won’t be attending with the intention of networking. Taking part in them allows you to showcase your expertise and thought leadership in your respective industry. This can increase your exposure and help build your personal brand, which, in turn, affects your network pretty directly. When starting my business and drawing attention to it through public speeches, I underestimated its impact on networking. But then I found that many people who later helped me a lot came to me on their own.
    2. Practice with friends. If you’re feeling nervous about meeting new people, start by modeling networking with friends and family. We usually give the same advice to salespeople who are afraid to call their clients at first: this helps build their confidence and gives them a solid foundation to reach out to new contacts. I’m sure there is no book or simple rule that will help one overcome fear without practicing, even in an artificial environment.
    3. Utilize LinkedIn and other social media platforms. If you’re unable or prefer not to network in person, LinkedIn is a valuable resource for connecting with others in your field. First of all, it has the same effect on the industry: it’s a great platform to share your expertise. Many underestimate how powerful a connection on the platform can be: for example, it once allowed me to reach out and negotiate calls with all the largest EdTechs in India within just one week!
    4. Don’t underestimate other people’s connections. If you fail to reach a person, ask the people you know to recommend you or get to know them to connect you with your target person. For example, when I fail to reach a venture organization, I try to connect to representatives of their portfolio companies, provide suggestions, and then ask them to connect me with the organization. Guess what? This works extremely effectively, even if it’s just via LinkedIn.

    These easy techniques will help you utilize your time most effectively without investing too much effort.

    Related: 3 Steps to Make Networking Easier

    Never stop expanding your network.

    Networking is a critical tool for entrepreneurs looking to grow and succeed in their businesses. Only by investing time and effort into building strong relationships can you unlock the full potential of your business. The broader your network is, the more opportunities you gain, and the more time you have to find them. Starting may be challenging, but it will become natural eventually.

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    Roman Kumar Vyas

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  • Has Remote Work Impacted Our Relationships With Other Employees? Find Out.

    Has Remote Work Impacted Our Relationships With Other Employees? Find Out.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The concept of remote work and the impact it could have on the productivity and motivation of employees, has been in discussion long before the Covid-19 pandemic. A 2013 Stanford University study with 500 employees in China reported that employee productivity increased by 13% as a result of working remotely in quieter environments.

    The pandemic forced employers and governments across the world to adopt the remote work model. According to Statista, the global collaboration software market revenues rose by a whopping $15.9 billion in 2019 to $19.2 billion in 2021. These figures are expected to increase over the next few years, as digital transformation and remote work are here to stay.

    Some companies believe that the best practice is a hybrid-first work model, while others are pursuing efforts to bring employees back to the office. In September 2022, Kastle Systems, a key-card property management company that monitors entries and exits from office buildings, reported that some businesses are close to 50% office capacity.

    So, how has remote work impacted the relationships of employees? The way they connect on a professional level or even in a friendly manner?

    We conducted a survey in the United States across a wide age range, asking the participants about their experiences with remote and hybrid work models, and how it has impacted their productivity and their relationships with their colleagues.

    The participants

    To understand the role of remote work in the internal network of employers, we included participants across 31 states who are either working entirely remotely or with a hybrid work model. The survey sample included a diverse audience, as people of various ages and industries have varying preferences when it comes to the methods and tools they use to perform.

    • 82% of the participants were aged between 25 and 44 years old.
    • 18% were aged between 45 and 55 years old.

    The majority worked across different industries including, but not limited to, finance, software, healthcare and information services.

    Related: Employers: Productivity Among Your Remote Workers Isn’t A Problem — Your Proximity Bias Is.

    Remote work and productivity

    71% of our participants claimed that their productivity has improved over the past two years. A further 21% stated that it remained unchanged and 8% believe that it deteriorated.

    This came as no surprise. Removing the hours of commute, preparing food at home and being close to the family are all elements that employees have appreciated. In the words of Allyson Zimmermann, Executive Director at Catalyst, “access to remote work increases employee wellbeing, productivity, innovation and inclusion.”

    Whereas, no one under the age of 34 found their productivity deteriorating.

    Remote work and relationships with colleagues

    Despite the fact that remote work removes the boundary between work and home, people have been able to establish methods to communicate with colleagues without it becoming a burden. So much so, that for some, remote work has improved their relationships with their colleagues.

    67% of our participants believe that their relationships with their colleagues have improved during the last two years. This figure was sufficiently higher among the younger ages, as 73.8% of the respondents between the ages of 25-34 answered positively.

    This is in line with the findings of Dan Schwable, Managing Partner of Workplace Intelligence, who highlights that “over the past year their relationships have improved with their managers (32%), peers/colleagues on their team (25%), and peers/colleagues on other teams (21%).”

    “When people trust one another and have social capital, you get a willingness to take risks, you get more innovation and creativity and less groupthink.”

    Methods of interactions

    No matter the benefits of remote work, employees can get lonely. Nancy Baym, Jonathan Larso and Ronnie Martin from Harvard Business Review elaborate, “the spontaneous informal interactions at risk in hybrid and remote work are not distractions or unproductive. They foster the employee connections that feed productivity and innovation — these interactions are the soil in which ideas grow.”

    Our survey participants, however, have shared different methods that their employers promote in-person interactions:

    • 26% said that social outings have been their company’s go-to method.
    • 23% of our participants stated their company does so through work retreats and off-site gatherings.

    An interesting point to note is that some companies encourage remote interactions with colleagues:

    • 23% connect through digital Interactive Office Solutions.
    • 11% interact through online video game sessions.

    Admittedly, we have tried the last two points at Covve by hosting virtual game nights and online yoga sessions once per month with great success, connecting our teams.

    In addition to the above responses, we invited the participants to share other activities that would help them interact better with their colleagues at work. The most prominent responses were:

    • The inclusion of outdoor activities and sports in the company’s schedule.
    • Department-wide lunches or occasional dinners with colleagues. This is a technique introduced at Google (and then the wider Silicon Valley) to encourage employees to eat together, connect and share ideas for new projects.
    • The introduction of biweekly or monthly mentorship sessions.
    • Working together on volunteering activities and community service projects.

    Related: How to Strengthen Communication Within Remote and Hybrid Teams

    Conclusion

    The key message from our findings is that while remote work has increased employee productivity and improved their relationships, it did not eliminate the need for social interaction.

    Company networking and bonding is still heavily facilitated at company outings and gatherings. Although online interactions and even video games are novel and rising methods in connecting employees at the remote or hybrid workplace, employees still need to connect over drinks, food, exercise, or even volunteering. This is well explained by a research-backed op-ed by Edward Glaeser and David Cutler featured in The Washington Post, which claims that “over the medium to long term, long-distance employment can’t deliver key benefits — including learning and new friendships — that come from face-to-face contact.”

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    Gleb Tsipursky

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