There is nothing more valuable to an entrepreneur or business owner than her network. Whether it is her network of clients, colleagues or industry friends, the power of connecting with other people is not to be overlooked. This is probably the number one piece of advice I could give anybody starting out in business.
Let’s take it back a few months.
In 2022 I left my stable job as co-founder and co-director of a marketing agency in Ireland to pursue my dream of living in Australia. I had been in Australia prior to the pandemic and to be honest my time there just didn’t feel finished.
I packed my bags, said my goodbyes and got on my flight to Perth last April.
Going from a situation where I had clients, friends in the industry and a massive network of business owners to sell our services to, to a place where I knew nobody in the business world, was a huge change.
By July I still wasn’t working with anyone in Perth and it was at this point that I realised just how important my network was. How can I expect to have clients flooding my DMs and emails if nobody even knew I was there? So I dived in and tried to connect with as many people as I could. How did I do this?
I tell pretty much everyone I can about what I do. I have perfected the elevator pitch so to speak.
Whether it’s on a night out, at an appointment, at a lunch, or pretty much anywhere at all, if someone asks what I work at, I summarise my strengths into a few sentences.
I have followed and connected with so many business owners in Perth via Instagram. I don’t do it in a sleazy, salesy way rather I genuinely engage and encourage what they are doing. They in turn feel supported and after a while will begin to recognise my name.
I utilise Facebook groups to network as well. There are so many Australian-based and international groups for women in business and they are teeming with opportunities to work with other business savvy women.
So how has this translated into my business?
Since moving to Perth I have worked with 10 new clients on a range of projects from website design to content creation and email strategy. That’s 10 clients who had never even heard of me 6 months ago. 10 clients who, had I not got out of my comfort zone and got working on building my network, I wouldn’t have worked with at all.
Your takeaway from this should be: nobody is going to shout about you louder than you can do yourself. You need to take control and make sure that people know who you are, what you can do and how amazing you are at doing it.
Build on your network and connect with other driven business owners with whom you can work and collaborate.
I promise, your business will thank you for it.
Cheering you on always,
Eimear
Website: https://jeunedigital.com.au
Instagram: @jeune.digital
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eimear-morris-9b77301a1/
