Networking Outside Your Industry
by Larry Slusser on March 17th, 2008
Your business is in a specific industry, so naturally you belong to the industry-related associations, and receive the monthly e-newsletters. In doing this, you receive pertinent information that is vital to your business and future success. So why would you network outside of your industry? Networking outside your industry will make you a very well-rounded individual which will help your business. The most successful business entrepreneurs have made a point to network outside of their primary industry, and particularly within their customers’ industries.
Why is this important? If it is important to your customers, it should be important to you. Additionally, you can learn a great deal about trends from other industries, even if they don’t parallel with yours. You can gain synergy from benchmarking and learning about different industries and even different markets than your own, giving you additional platforms from which your business can grow.
Below are a few suggestions to help you take your business to the next level by networking within other industries. By gaining knowledge about your customers’ areas of interest, you’ll be able to provide better service to your customers based on their needs, helping to align with your needs and goals for the organization. You can also gain valuable insight into other areas that hold growth potential for your business.
Get involved in community groups. Networking happens here very naturally and what better way to help out while talking about “what you do”? Not-for-profit organizations such as the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, and your local YMCA are good places to start.
Joining different groups is a positive way to increase your network, not to mention the fun you will have in participating, such as through a hobby group. These can be a community basketball team, or joining a book club. One additional though on joining a hobby group-they tend to be loyal to others who enjoy the same pastime, which will increase your chances for new customers.
Become a member of your local Chamber of Commerce. This is a great place to network with every business in your municipality and neighboring cities as well. Often times your Chamber will have new member orientations, lists of member businesses, and different committees you can join to get involved and meet other business people.
Take continuing education classes. Not only will you gain new skills, but you will meet like-minded individuals who become part of your network, who also have their own networks.
Volunteer for a worthwhile cause. This is also a great way to increase your network. You help out in your community by making a difference, and possibly create more business for yourself as well. Of course, you do not want to volunteer only for this purpose - you have to want to help out. This would just be a benefit of doing so, not to mention what you will be giving to that organization.