3 Networking Tips for the Introverted Entrepreneur

Get off the couch and learn to enjoy networking

When my daughter, Lucy, started Grade 6 at a new school, she didn’t know a soul. I assumed she’d be nervous, so I was coaching her on how to feel more comfortable and confident. 

(Unsolicited Random Parenting Tip: Teenagers just love, love, love to be coached by their parents. Do it as much as possible. In fact, why not print off helpful accompanying materials - like I did two days ago. Prepare joyfully for eye rolls, blank stares, and loud, annoyed sighs.) 

 Lucy looked at me puzzled and asked: “Can I bring gum?”

 “Sure,” I said. “Why?”

 My 11 year old looked at me as if I was clueless: “If you pull out gum, you say to the person next to you, ‘Hey, do you want gum?’ And they say ‘yes.’  Boom. You’re friends.”

Meeting new people and networking as an adult is perhaps not quite as simple and straightforward. For many of us the idea of walking into a room full of strangers to chat them up strikes fear to our very hearts. We’d rather stay home and take a nap. 

When I started my business as a writer in 2018, I knew I needed to get off the couch and get out there, so I began attending local networking events. Everywhere I went I met coaches. This was at the same time I was discovering the life changing benefits of coaching, and I was deciding to shift my business to include coaching. I ended up creating a monthly meet-up just for coaches. We still meet every month, and wonderful business collaborations and friendships have formed - all because I got out of my pyjamas and went to networking events. 

Networking - in real life - is important for business. It keeps you in people’s minds, you get ideas and leads for sales, and make connections that can turn out to be both professionally and personally enriching. 

The following three tips helped keep me from standing tongue tied in a room alone when everyone else seemed to be old friends. Try these tips out and learn how to get comfortable and confident meeting new people, making connections, and talking about your business. 

1) Introduce Yourself

After you stick out your hand and say: Hi, I’m so-and-so, what next? It’s helpful to the person you’re meeting to know a bit about you - and for you to have clarity on your business. Prior to going, ask yourself the following questions, practice saying them out loud, and slip them into your introduction.

What’s the name of your business?

Who’s your ideal client?

What do they struggle with?

What’s your reason for wanting to serve these clients?

What results can you give them? 

Where people can contact you?

My name is Linda Drosdowech. I’m a business coach. I help women entrepreneurs who are ready to take their business to the next level create mindset shifts and daily practices, to get past procrastination and self doubt, so they can build the business of their dreams. I’m committed to empowering women and girls to be financially independent, take risks and thrive - to be the best boss of themselves. Instagram is my favourite place to hang out. 

Asking ourselves these questions also gives us clarity on our marketing messages and our business values - plus they are great questions to have on hand to ask that stranger you’ve just met!

2) Make Connections

Some of you may be thinking: “Okay, Linda. That’s a bit much. What if I’m not feeling that kind of bold strategy. What if I don’t know the answers to those questions? What if I’m feeling unsure of my path, shy, and self-conscious?”

Gotcha. If you’re not ready or in the mood or feeling confident enought for shining a light on yourself and your own business just yet, try thinking of yourself as a connector. When you meet someone new, ask yourself:

Who do I know who could help this person?

How can I be of service to them? 

Who could I introduce them to? 

Networking is about making connections. The person you’re talking to will remember your thoughtfulness and your willingness to be helpful. You may not have made a sale or a collaboration, but you have planted a seed for a future relationship. 

3) CELEBRATE YOUR SKILL SET

 “What is obvious to you is amazing to others.”

You have a skill set, abilities, talents and products you may take for granted, but the rest of the world is utterly amazed by. You never will know if your passion for cultivating the best wild blueberry pie in the world isn’t going to be met with: “My wild blueberry pie maker just quit, and I need a new contractor.”

The point is you are so talented and amazing, and the world needs what you have to offer. It would be a disservice to your future customers who need that exact thing you do, if you did not tell them about who you are and what you do. 

Get out there and network. If you need help, I can coach you through it. Just don’t roll your eyes at me. 

Don’t forget: “What is obvious to you is amazing to others.” 

 And bring gum!