Michael Mitchell ⋅ Nashville, TN EMF Telecom Inc ⋅ 25 years experience

J,

I don't know if this answer would be one you're exactly looking to receive but here is my attempt to answer your question. At least what I think you're seeking.

First a little background...
I grew up in a very Entrepreneurial home. My father was a very successful person, the certified genius people we sometimes hear about. He had nothing growing up and with little options he joined the Navy during the Korean War. Using his GI Bill he went to Notre Dame and ultimately a Masters Degree. He landed at Motorola where he was one of the leaders in Corporate HR. He was at Motorola for many years then he started his own company.

I too was in the Navy where I learned Electronics. I went to school afterwards then landed a job in Telecom. I worked my way up and was a high level Director at two very large companies. I too worked corporate for many years before I started my own company.

So looking back at my experience as well as my Father's, here is the advice I'd give to you.

1 ) Play to your strengths and be humble. Don't be or try to act like something you're not, be honest with others and to yourself. And you don't know everything so don't as like a "Know-it-all". In business, sometimes its much better to listen than it is to speak not knowing all the details, be humble...

2 ) Read Read Read! One thing I'll always remember about my Dad was he was always reading. I find this comes in handy when reading business emails, I'm a much better manager when I read, rather than just skim over emails. I try to gain the perspective and meaning of the writer before I respond.

3 ) Don't look for a better Job, do a better Job. Opportunities come to those who put their best foot forward every single day. Especially if you're starting your own business, you must move that rock forward everyday, if not you're probably not going to succeed.

I can go on and on but the message is really this. Educate yourself, stay as current as possible and work hard every single day.

Lastly, let me leave you with this. If you're going to be an Entrepreneur you are going to fail from time to time, it's inevitable. But it's what you learn along the way that will teach you what to do right the next time.

May the Wind be at your Back,
MjM

Claudia Pires ⋅ Tampa, FL inspiHRed ⋅ 18 years experience

- Begin with the end in mind.
- Find mentor(s) who believe in you.
- Never stop learning and studying.
- Don't listen to the nay-sayers.

tamme tannehill ⋅ Louisville, KY Find Me A Franchise, LLC ⋅ 35 years experience

Networking is about building relationships not soliciting business. Building relationships and getting people to trust you WILL get you potential customers.

FRANCIS TEPEDINO, ESQ. ⋅ San Diego, CA THE CONDOR GROUP ⋅ 30 years experience

It depends on exactly what your aims are. In my case, I founded my own successful, nationwide, consulting business rather late in my life. Looking back it seems that the main stepping stone was formal education. I started out with a degree in Engineering, then later Industrial Management, later graduate studies in Finance and much later in life, a Law Degree: These plus a series of increasingly responsible jobs in industry. The actual experience in industry allows one to speak the 'language" of my clients. One must ask themselves, exactly what would a "client" pay for? In my case it was education plus experience. Good luck.

Michael Del Vecchio ⋅ Killingworth, CT U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 3 years served

Hi Jimetrius -

I am 72 and retired - and have had careers in corporate and as a small business owner. My best advice is to find a mentor who can help with connecting to others as well as assist in running your business. Think SCORE or the SBDC (both subsidiaries or the SBA) for business mentor ship, a local chamber of commerce, BNI International or local economic development commission to jump start your business network. I always found that friends (real people, not FaceBook)) are the best way to make connections to others. The thread running through all these suggestions is to be yourself and talk/relate to others - people are all the same, they want the same things you and I do. There is also a possible connect at the EBV program (check it out, here is the UCONN site http://ebv.business.uconn.edu/) Best of luck - if you want to talk about SCORE (or anything else), send an EMAIL and we can connect.

Angel Carter ⋅ San Antonio, TX U.S. Air Force, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 10 years served

I would definitely say listen carefully, continue to learn something new everyday, and stay positive and motivated. I have always been a pretty active person and outgoing but not in the sense of networking or business aura.
There are so many things that I would have done differently in my youthful days, for instance not creating social media account for one source but a more professional side of me. Creating business cards, approaching great opportunities, joining special societies, and reading great books. There was a great saying that I heard from somewhere, that one should spend time with 3 types of people throughout their day, people that are wiser/older/mature than you, people same potential/age/similarities to you and those that you can teach/mentor/ learn from you.
I also know I am who I am because of my past experiences, so no regrets but to continue to learn from them. So my advice would to be more mindful on how you want your life to be. Great question!

Aaron Bernstine ⋅ New Galilee, PA Pennsylvania House of Representatives ⋅ 8 years experience

A few areas that I would have focused on are:

-Know the business and the numbers before engaging into a venture. Following your "heart" only gets you so far, don't be afraid to pass on an opportunity and wait or explore a different one if the numbers done make sense.

-Pick up the phone and and ask "I was looking for your help...." Everyone wants to help someone, this opening line will break down walls.

-Engage in businesses that have little government regulation. Working in areas that have high level of scrutiny are costly and as a new company you are typically cash-poor.

Steve Tilden ⋅ Sun City, CA OpenText ⋅ 20 years experience

Ok, maybe it wasn't the first one. But instead, let me be specific. The answer provided by Michael Mitchell was spot on.

Steve Tilden ⋅ Sun City, CA OpenText ⋅ 20 years experience

Less an answer, and really just a question before I add my two cents. By "Networking" did you mean the technology term, like what Cisco products help you administer? Or did you mean the getting to know people kind?

By and large and generally speaking without knowing that answer, that first answer was spot on BTW. Most important part of it, in my opinion, is to stay humble. If you do this fully and with all your heart, you will completely lose your ego. By losing your ego, you will learn to improve yourself far beyond that which most people are capable of, if only because you had the courage to admit that you needed to get better, instead of doing what most would do, which is to blame others.

Barbara Stern ⋅ Boulder, CO Affordable Closets,llc ⋅ 35 years experience

Speak up and don't fear rejection. Plus, determine what my passion is and then go for it, all out.

Ted Mittelstaedt ⋅ Portland, OR Portlandia IT LLC ⋅ 20 years experience

This is what I would say:

"In general your heading in the right direction."

The thing is this. Everything changes in High Technology so fast that it is like riding a very fast train. You have to run super hard and fast in the beginning to match speeds with the train so you can get on to it. Then once your on the train you cannot rest on knowledge that you learned, because every day, a little bit of the knowledge you worked so hard to learn becomes obsolete and goes sailing backwards behind the train. You have to learn new things at the same rate technology changes to stay current.

What this ALSO means is that if you screw up in the beginning and waste a lot of time learning something that is useless to know - then - hakuna matata. It doesn't matter. It's going to be completely obsolete in 5 years anyway so it doesn't matter.

For example I still talk to users who say Windows XP is the greatest operating system Microsoft ever came out with. Well, they are right. It is. But, hakuna matata - it doesn't matter. It's obsolete. So your choice is to either attempt to live in the past and every year have fewer and fewer new programs you can run - or to let it go and jump into Windows 7, and Windows 10 when it eventually comes out.

Tim Keefe ⋅ Washington, DC U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 6 years served

With networking (in general), this is what I've noticed:

1. Networking is indeed more about building relationships instead of getting a job, though it sometimes leads to a job. The preference is for a lasting relationship instead of a temporary one, though sometimes there are certainly temporary ones.

2. When asking for help, be very specific about what you're looking for. If you need help with a resume, for example, understand that everyone will have their take on what the resume will look like, and so you'll wind up with nearly as many versions as there are people. Instead, use as many free resources as there are out in library and on the Net. THEN, get in touch with someone to see if they can add or change something that you've overlooked. If you really need help, then this is when you can ask for someone to take you through the first steps. Then, wash, rinse, and repeat.

3. Related to (2), provide an incentive for the other person to help you. Very few people help another person out of the goodness of their heart, regardless of what they say on the surface. After all, if you ask me for my help, you're taking time and energy away from me and that I could be using for something else. This is why you have to be specific in asking questions, for help.

4. Develop the sense and the skills to spot duds very quickly and move on. Ditto for long-timers (i.e., had the same job for 20 years or more), time-wasters, and shysters. To me, an example of a "dud" is someone who effectively has no power to get me in the door somewhere when I'm asking for it. "Go to the website and submit your resume" is something I can find out (and have done, numerous times) myself; I don't need the dud to tell me that. But, if the person can give me inside information about the hiring process rigmarole, then or she is out of the running for "dud" status. Also remember that many people are powerless over the control that HR has in the hiring process. I'm sure that, if it were up to them, they'd hire you on the spot because of your background, skills, charisma, etc. Not so when everyone has to go through HR and suffer the indignities of ATSs and unresponsive HR people.

5. Network smartly with people in a particular geographic area along with industry. For example, if you want to work at Boeing, it makes the most sense to be either in Seattle, St. Louis, or Chicago, or be ready to relocate there. If you want to work in entertainment, NYC or LA. If you want to work in banking, NYC or Charlotte. Etc. Former employees count, too.

6. Never attend generic networking events, if you can help it, which are chock-full of people who don't know each other and who are uncomfortable being there. Instead, attend networking events and Meetups, where like-minded individuals will congregate more readily.

7. Always make sure to follow up, even with a dud in the first month or so. If they know nothing and can't help you, have them point you in a better direction.

Thankfully, the Net has made this all the easier to do. In the "old days" (pre-2000), you could be on a wild goose chase for years and not know it until too late.