My Friends Have Deep Pockets

Everyone always talks about networking and how it can lead to better business, etc. But do you ever take a minute to think what networking is useful and what is possibly a waste? Without being ignorant, take a minute and think about the contacts (friends) you have. Now think about the contacts you have, which you can use to benefit you or your business in any way. You might notice that they are significantly less. Some people are meant to be nothing more than acquaintances and some you can really partner with and benefit from.

If anyone looked at my group of friends, they would notice that almost everyone is older than I am and most have deeper pockets than I do. Also, if you look at each persons field of expertise, each person is different. Some are involved in the internet industry, others in retail, a few in health care, etc. A major "problem" with entrepreneurs today, is that they don't like to explore outside of their own industry. For example, when people think of good places to network, they will usually go to conferences and meet new people- in their comfort zone. Which leads to meeting people who virtually do the same thing as them. While it is perfectly okay to do so- I always recommend meeting people from different backgrounds.

Here is where it really matters:

Say that I am taking up a new venture dealing with health care and tying it into the web in some way. While I probably have enough knowledge and know how of the internet field, I might not be able to put the pieces together when it comes to health care. Having the ability to partner with friends who are physicians would give me two benefits:

1. Their knowledge
2. Their financial capacity

It comes to be a win-win situation because none of my physician friends probably have enough knowledge to launch a web business- vice versa. Pulling everyone's knowledge into one basket and then having each person involved with their individual wealth really comes out to be a strong team.

I find that it is also very beneficial to learn from people who are older than I am. Whether it is someone in my field or any other, an older person usually has a great deal of more experience than I do. A lot of my friends give me advice and I can say that it is always great to take it into consideration because it helps avoid a lot of mistakes which cost time or money or even both.

And a last note...some may argue that networking doesn't necessarily have to mean people become your friends, but I will ask you this: Why would you do business with someone you barely know? Exactly, you wouldn't. Therefore, you have to become friends with people in order for them to actually be of any value to your future ventures.