Building networks by helping others.
When you start a business, you know that you are doing something to serve others. There are no businesses which thrive on selfish goals. Selfish businesses inevitably fail, especially in today’s age, where everyone seems to be growing a conscience.
To successfully grow your business, you must be ready to go out of your way and support those around you. It must be done in a selfless way, expecting nothing in return, however you may find that people are far more willing to help you, if you’ve already helped them in the past.
Supporting your tribe is the gift that keeps on giving.
There will be days in your business where you see tremendous growth, where you see that what you’re doing is really making a difference in someone’s life. I have found that those days are usually the ones right after you’ve helped someone complete something they couldn’t have accomplished alone. Those days are like a rock thrown into a still pond. They create ripples far beyond the point of impact, for both you and the people you support.
You will hear just about every online guru tell you that you need to provide value to your tribe. Value comes in a million different forms like podcasting, blog posts or social media messages… However I have found that helping someone directly has the most profound impact on how they will support you in the future.
For example, I have a wonderful friend whom I’ve met because she was curious about my business. We got to talking about what each of us does, sells & how our businesses work. I took the time to sit down and discuss all of her questions as openly as possible. This led to more meaningful conversations about our health, our families & our personal goals.
Now, I go out of my way to check in on her and see how she’s doing whenever she pops into my mind. This may seem like an inconsequential act, however, it is in these small conversations about things completely unrelated to either of our businesses that our friendship & respect for each other has grown.
Let’s not forget that we are all humans at the end of the day. We want to be heard, we want to be trusted & we want to be loved.
She has become one of my biggest supporters. She advocates my business, and helps in every way she can. I try to always do the same for her. If I see something that can benefit her business, or cross someone I think she should meet. I make sure she knows about it.
You may not be able to get to know all of your clients personally, but sometimes connections happen with very little effort. These connections we must cherish, we must go out of our way to be a little less selfish than we typically are. We must support these people and be an ear for them when they have something on their mind.
Only by helping others in their own growth will it undoubtedly help us with ours.
This is something that you won’t read in business books, it’s not a tactic, it’s not some kind of sleight of hand to distract or misguide people. It is genuine human interaction and that’s what makes my business strong.
