March 17, 2025 • 17 mins
Feeling Like Networking Is One-Sided? Here’s What to Do.
You’re showing up, building relationships, making introductions, sharing opportunities—so why does it feel like no one is doing the same for you?
It’s frustrating, it’s discouraging, and it might even have you questioning if networking is worth the effort.
In this episode, we’re tackling the uncomfortable reality of one-sided networking and shifting the way you think about relationship-building in business.
Listen in to learn:
✅ How keeping score sabotages your connections
✅ What to do when you feel like you're giving more than you're getting
✅ How to ensure your networking efforts work - even when you can't see the results yet.
Networking isn’t about quick wins—it’s about planting seeds that grow into real opportunities.
So if you’re feeling stuck, let’s talk about what’s actually happening beneath the surface and how to keep building connections in a way that feels good and supports your business for the long haul.
Links & References:
- Join us at our next PWR Virtual Speed Networking Event!
- For even deeper connections, check out the Powerful Women Rising Community
- Listen to Episode #89 - Re-Evaluating Your Networking Efforts
Loved the episode?
Here are four ways you can show your support:
1. Buy me a coffee to show your appreciation!
2. Leave a five-star review
3. DM me on Instagram and let me know
4. Share it with a friend!
Connect with Your Host!
Melissa Snow is a Business Relationship Strategist dedicated to empowering women in entrepreneurship. She founded the Powerful Women Rising Community, which provides female business owners with essential support and resources for business growth.
Melissa's other mission is to revolutionize networking, promoting authenticity and genuine connections over sleazy sales tactics. She runs an incredible monthly Virtual Speed Networking Event which you can attend once at no cost using the code FIRSTTIME
She lives in Colorado Springs with two girl dogs, two boy cats and any number of foster kittens. She loves iced coffee, Taylor Swift, and Threads.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Thank you.
If you've been networking for awhile, do you ever feel like
you are out there doing all thethings showing up, supporting
people, making introductions,sharing opportunities and then
you look around and think, uh,hello, why am I not getting any
love back?
If that's ever happened to you,stick around, because today
(00:54):
we're talking about what to dowhen networking starts to feel a
little one-sided.
If you're new here, welcome.
I'm Melissa Snow, and this isthe Powerful Women Rising
podcast, a podcast for femaleentrepreneurs who want to build
real relationships in businesswithout the awkward sleazy.
Let me just pitch you my thingvibes.
I am a business coach and anetworking expert who teaches
(01:17):
women how to network like actualhumans, not like salesy weirdos
or desperate robots, and todaywe're diving into why networking
does work, even when it doesn'tfeel like it.
Now I want you to know that thispodcast episode is somewhat
autobiographical.
I often come up with the ideasfor the topics that I want to
talk about on my solo episodes,either from what I'm
(01:40):
experiencing in my own life orfrom what I'm hearing from the
members of the Powerful WomenRising community, which, by the
way, is an online community forfemale entrepreneurs.
It's basically the best thingever.
It is networking, masterminding, co-working, learning to be
better at networking and havingfun doing it.
And if you haven't checked itout yet, definitely click the
(02:01):
link in the show notes.
Anyway, this topic comes frommy own current frustration and
I'm sharing it, not because Iwant you to feel bad for me or
go do something for me to showme that you're an important part
of my network, because if youkeep listening, you'll see that
is not the point.
But sometimes it feels like Iam networking in a void.
(02:22):
Sometimes it feels like I amproviding value, I'm sharing
opportunities, I'm forwardingemails, I'm saying, hey, listen
to this podcast episode.
I'm saying, hey, you shouldtotally meet so-and-so, she'd be
a perfect fit for you andfeeling like I'm not really
getting a lot back.
So if you have ever felt likethat, I want to just acknowledge
(02:44):
that frustration is real.
I understand the feelings andI'm hopeful that this episode is
going to help you shift yourperspective and see some of the
benefits that you might not beseeing of continuing on with
your networking efforts and howyou can make some adjustments
that will help your efforts payoff over time.
So the first thing I want totalk about is a reminder that
(03:07):
real relationships are nottransactional and sometimes,
when we get to this point offeeling like, does networking
even work, it's because we'veshifted our focus to the
transactions.
We've started keeping score,expecting a return, feeling
entitled to a referral becausewe gave one, and that doesn't
make you a bad person, that'stotally normal.
(03:27):
But I want to remind you thatwe are about building real,
authentic connections.
We're about building realrelationships that continue on
over time and organically resultin business growth.
So I want to remind you thatnetworking is about building
trust and building a community.
It's not a tit for tat exchange.
(03:50):
Also, where did that phrasecome from?
I might have to go down an ADHDrabbit hole and Google it,
because tit for tat is basicallyone of the worst phrases and I
just used it.
So I want to share an exampleof how not to network and how a
scarcity mindset can hurtrelationships.
I connected with a woman yearsand years ago when I first moved
(04:11):
here and started networking,and she was a realtor and was
very connected in the community.
Everybody knew her.
She runs a local Facebook group.
That's just a community grouphas nothing to do really with
her business and there's lots ofmembers in it and you know,
she's just, she's pretty wellknown and I really liked her.
I liked her energy, she wasvery spunky and, um, I thought
(04:34):
she liked me and we haven't everbeen like hangout friends.
But we have stayed in touch onsocial media.
We comment on each other'sposts, blah, blah, blah.
So I had sent her a messageasking her hey, I've got this
free event coming up.
Would it be okay if I shared itin your community group?
And her response back to me wasbasically can you remind me of
(04:57):
the last time you sent me areferral and it was so
off-putting and so not how Iwant to do business that I was
over it.
At that point I didn't need topost the event in her group.
But I'm sharing this story withyou because that is what
happens when we start to thinkof these relationships as more
transactional, when we start tokeep score of like gosh I've
(05:20):
done a lot for Janice recentlyand I can't remember the last
time that Janice has donesomething for me it turns us
into somebody that we don'treally want to be and it also
turns us into somebody thatother people don't really want
to continue creating connectionswith.
So the best analogy I can giveyou is to think of networking as
planting seeds, not tradingcrops.
(05:42):
So you are going around all ofthese times that you're
providing value to people,whether that's a referral,
whether it is sharing a resource, whether it is sharing an
opportunity.
Every time you're providingvalue, you're planting seeds,
and some seeds take longer thanothers to grow, but eventually
(06:03):
most of them will grow and thatis going to sustain your
business a lot more than if youjust had a certain number of
crops to trade for a certainnumber of crops, and now you
have no more crops, so you'renot valuable to the other person
anymore.
I don't know if that was aweird analogy or if it worked,
but it seemed like it worked inmy head.
(06:23):
Okay, the other thing I want toremind you of is that your
network might be doing invisiblework for you.
You might think that nobody isdoing anything to help you, that
nobody is thinking about you,providing value to you,
referring you, but just becauseyou can't see it doesn't mean
it's not happening.
And, as I mentioned in theplanting seeds analogy, just
(06:45):
because it's not happening right, this second doesn't mean it's
not going to happen.
There are likely people who arementioning you in rooms that
you're not in, even if you don'thear about it, and sometimes
those referrals or opportunitiestake months or years to surface
, your name might already becirculating in ways that you
don't realize.
(07:05):
This happened to me once withsomebody that I had met years
ago, with no real contact sincethen, and I didn't even think
she really remembered who I was.
And then I met somebody at anetworking group and they were
like oh, I know you So-and-sotold me about you and I was just
(07:26):
like oh, wow, that's awesome,right.
So you don't always know what'shappening and you don't always
know when it's going to turninto something for you.
The next thing I want to talkabout is teaching people how to
network with you.
So my guess is, when you firststarted networking, when you
first started your business andyou were meeting people and
making connections and buildingrelationships, you didn't really
(07:48):
have a lot of strategy behindit.
You didn't really know what youwere doing For me.
I knew that I was supposed tonetwork when I started my
business, but I didn't reallyknow why.
I just knew I needed to meetpeople and maybe they would want
to buy my thing.
Like that was my wholenetworking strategy.
So, while that is true for us.
It is likely true for everyoneelse as well, and so there's
(08:11):
likely a lot of people who wantto be helpful to you.
They want to be a valuable partof your network, but they don't
really know how.
Either they don't even thinkabout providing value to you in
ways other than referrals orthey don't really understand how
to refer you.
Maybe they don't know what kindof opportunities you're looking
(08:33):
for right now.
Maybe they are not clear on whoyour ideal client is or how to
make that referral happen.
So I recently had a one-on-onestrategy session with a member
of the Powerful Women Risingcommunity and I helped her get
crystal clear on how to helpother people help her.
We needed to figure out whatare the things that other people
(08:56):
need to be listening for inconversations that will trigger
them to think I need to referthis person to so-and-so or
so-and-so needs to talk to thisperson.
If someone says a certainphrase, a certain keyword, if
you have a friend who alwayscomplains about a certain thing,
that's the person I want totalk to, right, or maybe right
(09:18):
now it is.
I'm really looking for peoplewho run groups, communities,
online summits, that are lookingfor speakers or participants
right, and sometimes, often,what you're looking for is going
to change, and so it'simportant that you have a way to
communicate that to the peoplewho are in your network so that
they know specifically what youare looking for and how to
(09:40):
introduce you in a non-salesyway.
The other thing is, you want tomake it as easy as possible for
people to refer you.
I was working with anothermember of the Powerful Women
Rising community on a handoutthat she is going to give to
medical providers that shepartners with because she's a
health and wellness coach, andwe created this pamphlet or this
(10:02):
brochure whatever you want tocall it so that she can give it
to these medical providers as asimple way for them to refer
people to her.
They don't have to remember oh,I think she does that.
Oh, I think she does that.
Oh well, I don't know if shehelps people with that, it's all
right there on the paper.
All they have to do is be ableto identify the person that
could be helped by her servicesand give them the paper.
(10:26):
That's it.
So the easier you make it forpeople to refer you or to
provide value to you in someother way, the more likely it is
that they are going to do it.
I also noticed recently.
I have a friend who also owns abusiness and she has been
posting maybe once a month oronce every other month on
(10:46):
different social media channelsasking for connections, for
speaking opportunities, veryspecifically in her post.
This is what my expertise is.
If you know people who wouldbenefit from having a speaker on
this topic, here's how you canconnect me right.
(11:06):
So tell people more than oncewhat it is that you're looking
for, how they can help you, waysthat they can provide value for
you and make it as easy forthem as possible, and I think
you are going to start gettingbetter results.
Also, remember there was a daythat you weren't that amazing at
networking either.
So people need guidance andthey need your grace.
(11:28):
I like to always assume thebest intentions of people.
I also want to remind you thatnetworking is a long game.
This is one of the reasons that, when I started this business,
there were several quote unquoteexperts who told me it was not
going to work and it was notgoing to sell, because people,
(11:49):
especially business owners,especially those who aren't
making consistent income, want aquick win.
Right, we want the thing thatsays I'll teach you how to make
six figures in 90 minutes.
Who doesn't want to make sixfigures in 90 minutes?
And then there's me.
I'm like networking takes along time, but it pays off,
trust me.
(12:09):
Let's just do it for some yearsand you'll find out right.
That is not sexy.
That is likely not going tosell.
Good thing, I talk about it ina way that is not that sad.
But it is important to rememberthat the long game pays off.
This is why I say networking isone of the most sustainable
business strategies that thereis, because it is always
(12:32):
compounding over time as long asyou keep doing it.
I know that it's exhausting whenit feels one-sided, but
stopping is not the solution.
The more you practice, theeasier it becomes.
It's no longer something thatyou track or something that you
resent.
For me, providing value toother people has become second
nature.
I don't often even think aboutit when I'm doing it.
(12:54):
I just naturally haveconversations, thinking who do I
need to connect this person to?
Or I listen to a podcast orread a blog post and I just
automatically think who couldbenefit from hearing this and I
take two seconds to forward iton.
So when you reach the pointwhere providing value is second
nature, it becomes much easierand more powerful, because
(13:18):
instead of thinking who's doingsomething for me, you just keep
thinking how can I keep being avaluable connector?
You get to feel that joywithout any attachment to the
outcome, and I guarantee youthat in the long run, it does
pay off for your business.
Now, the last thing I want toadd, as a little asterisk
(13:38):
disclaimer before we wrap up, isthat sometimes you do have to
reevaluate your networkingstrategy.
You do have to ask yourselfsometimes am I networking in the
right places?
Am I putting effort into theright relationships?
Am I surrounding myself withthe right people, or am I in
groups that don't align with myvalues?
(13:59):
Does it feel like thecommunities that I'm in are more
transactional and self-serving?
Am I giving to people whoclearly don't reciprocate and
never will?
Am I networking in places whereno one understands the value of
what I do, no matter how manydifferent ways I try to explain
it?
If so, it might be time toshift your efforts, and
(14:20):
sometimes it can be hard to tellthe difference between when you
need to make some changes andwhen you need to just stick it
out and trust that it's gonnapay off in the long run.
If you haven't listened toepisode 89 of the Powerful Wind
Rising podcast or maybe youhaven't listened to it recently
I would definitely check it out.
That is an episode I recordedat the end of 2024 about
(14:40):
reevaluating your networkingstrategy for the year, and it's
important that we take timeperiodically to evaluate what
we're doing in the networkingworld to make sure that we are
putting our time and energy inthe right places.
So a few reminders before wewrap up.
Networking does work.
It just doesn't always work onyour timeline or in the ways
(15:00):
that you expect.
It's okay to feel frustrated anddefeated sometimes.
I don't know any entrepreneurwho doesn't feel frustrated and
defeated sometimes.
Just keep coming back to theperson that you want to be, the
business that you want to have,the impact that you want to
create and the life that youwant to live.
When you focus on those things,you will see that networking,
(15:22):
that creating authenticconnections and real
relationships, is how you wantto build your business.
You, I know, are aheart-centered entrepreneur.
You don't want to build abusiness in a transactional way
and if you try, it's not goingto feel good to you, so stick
with it.
Remember that people might bedoing work for you that you
(15:46):
can't see, and just because youcan't see it doesn't mean it's
not happening.
Also, remember that sometimesreferrals and opportunities take
months or years to surface, andthat you have to teach people
the best way to support you aspart of your network.
Be vocal about what you need.
Sometimes people don't knowunless you tell them.
So I have two little homeworkassignments for you today.
(16:08):
One I want you to ask yourselfwho in your network might
already be doing things for youwithout you even realizing.
And the second thing I want youto do is to reach out to
someone in your network todayand ask how can I support you
right now without expectinganything return?
If you continue to do those twothings consistently, you will
(16:31):
see that networking works andthat it feels good.
Thank you.
If you've been networking for awhile, do you ever feel like
you are out there doing all thethings showing up, supporting
people, making introductions,sharing opportunities and then
you look around and think, uh,hello, why am I not getting any
love back?
If that's ever happened to you,stick around, because today
(00:54):
we're talking about what to dowhen networking starts to feel a
little one-sided.
If you're new here, welcome.
I'm Melissa Snow, and this isthe Powerful Women Rising
podcast, a podcast for femaleentrepreneurs who want to build
real relationships in businesswithout the awkward sleazy.
Let me just pitch you my thingvibes.
I am a business coach and anetworking expert who teaches
(01:17):
women how to network like actualhumans, not like salesy weirdos
or desperate robots, and todaywe're diving into why networking
does work, even when it doesn'tfeel like it.
Now I want you to know that thispodcast episode is somewhat
autobiographical.
I often come up with the ideasfor the topics that I want to
talk about on my solo episodes,either from what I'm
(01:40):
experiencing in my own life orfrom what I'm hearing from the
members of the Powerful WomenRising community, which, by the
way, is an online community forfemale entrepreneurs.
It's basically the best thingever.
It is networking, masterminding, co-working, learning to be
better at networking and havingfun doing it.
And if you haven't checked itout yet, definitely click the
(02:01):
link in the show notes.
Anyway, this topic comes frommy own current frustration and
I'm sharing it, not because Iwant you to feel bad for me or
go do something for me to showme that you're an important part
of my network, because if youkeep listening, you'll see that
is not the point.
But sometimes it feels like Iam networking in a void.
(02:22):
Sometimes it feels like I amproviding value, I'm sharing
opportunities, I'm forwardingemails, I'm saying, hey, listen
to this podcast episode.
I'm saying, hey, you shouldtotally meet so-and-so, she'd be
a perfect fit for you andfeeling like I'm not really
getting a lot back.
So if you have ever felt likethat, I want to just acknowledge
(02:44):
that frustration is real.
I understand the feelings andI'm hopeful that this episode is
going to help you shift yourperspective and see some of the
benefits that you might not beseeing of continuing on with
your networking efforts and howyou can make some adjustments
that will help your efforts payoff over time.
So the first thing I want totalk about is a reminder that
(03:07):
real relationships are nottransactional and sometimes,
when we get to this point offeeling like, does networking
even work, it's because we'veshifted our focus to the
transactions.
We've started keeping score,expecting a return, feeling
entitled to a referral becausewe gave one, and that doesn't
make you a bad person, that'stotally normal.
(03:27):
But I want to remind you thatwe are about building real,
authentic connections.
We're about building realrelationships that continue on
over time and organically resultin business growth.
So I want to remind you thatnetworking is about building
trust and building a community.
It's not a tit for tat exchange.
(03:50):
Also, where did that phrasecome from?
I might have to go down an ADHDrabbit hole and Google it,
because tit for tat is basicallyone of the worst phrases and I
just used it.
So I want to share an exampleof how not to network and how a
scarcity mindset can hurtrelationships.
I connected with a woman yearsand years ago when I first moved
(04:11):
here and started networking,and she was a realtor and was
very connected in the community.
Everybody knew her.
She runs a local Facebook group.
That's just a community grouphas nothing to do really with
her business and there's lots ofmembers in it and you know,
she's just, she's pretty wellknown and I really liked her.
I liked her energy, she wasvery spunky and, um, I thought
(04:34):
she liked me and we haven't everbeen like hangout friends.
But we have stayed in touch onsocial media.
We comment on each other'sposts, blah, blah, blah.
So I had sent her a messageasking her hey, I've got this
free event coming up.
Would it be okay if I shared itin your community group?
And her response back to me wasbasically can you remind me of
(04:57):
the last time you sent me areferral and it was so
off-putting and so not how Iwant to do business that I was
over it.
At that point I didn't need topost the event in her group.
But I'm sharing this story withyou because that is what
happens when we start to thinkof these relationships as more
transactional, when we start tokeep score of like gosh I've
(05:20):
done a lot for Janice recentlyand I can't remember the last
time that Janice has donesomething for me it turns us
into somebody that we don'treally want to be and it also
turns us into somebody thatother people don't really want
to continue creating connectionswith.
So the best analogy I can giveyou is to think of networking as
planting seeds, not tradingcrops.
(05:42):
So you are going around all ofthese times that you're
providing value to people,whether that's a referral,
whether it is sharing a resource, whether it is sharing an
opportunity.
Every time you're providingvalue, you're planting seeds,
and some seeds take longer thanothers to grow, but eventually
(06:03):
most of them will grow and thatis going to sustain your
business a lot more than if youjust had a certain number of
crops to trade for a certainnumber of crops, and now you
have no more crops, so you'renot valuable to the other person
anymore.
I don't know if that was aweird analogy or if it worked,
but it seemed like it worked inmy head.
(06:23):
Okay, the other thing I want toremind you of is that your
network might be doing invisiblework for you.
You might think that nobody isdoing anything to help you, that
nobody is thinking about you,providing value to you,
referring you, but just becauseyou can't see it doesn't mean
it's not happening.
And, as I mentioned in theplanting seeds analogy, just
(06:45):
because it's not happening right, this second doesn't mean it's
not going to happen.
There are likely people who arementioning you in rooms that
you're not in, even if you don'thear about it, and sometimes
those referrals or opportunitiestake months or years to surface
, your name might already becirculating in ways that you
don't realize.
(07:05):
This happened to me once withsomebody that I had met years
ago, with no real contact sincethen, and I didn't even think
she really remembered who I was.
And then I met somebody at anetworking group and they were
like oh, I know you So-and-sotold me about you and I was just
(07:26):
like oh, wow, that's awesome,right.
So you don't always know what'shappening and you don't always
know when it's going to turninto something for you.
The next thing I want to talkabout is teaching people how to
network with you.
So my guess is, when you firststarted networking, when you
first started your business andyou were meeting people and
making connections and buildingrelationships, you didn't really
(07:48):
have a lot of strategy behindit.
You didn't really know what youwere doing For me.
I knew that I was supposed tonetwork when I started my
business, but I didn't reallyknow why.
I just knew I needed to meetpeople and maybe they would want
to buy my thing.
Like that was my wholenetworking strategy.
So, while that is true for us.
It is likely true for everyoneelse as well, and so there's
(08:11):
likely a lot of people who wantto be helpful to you.
They want to be a valuable partof your network, but they don't
really know how.
Either they don't even thinkabout providing value to you in
ways other than referrals orthey don't really understand how
to refer you.
Maybe they don't know what kindof opportunities you're looking
(08:33):
for right now.
Maybe they are not clear on whoyour ideal client is or how to
make that referral happen.
So I recently had a one-on-onestrategy session with a member
of the Powerful Women Risingcommunity and I helped her get
crystal clear on how to helpother people help her.
We needed to figure out whatare the things that other people
(08:56):
need to be listening for inconversations that will trigger
them to think I need to referthis person to so-and-so or
so-and-so needs to talk to thisperson.
If someone says a certainphrase, a certain keyword, if
you have a friend who alwayscomplains about a certain thing,
that's the person I want totalk to, right, or maybe right
(09:18):
now it is.
I'm really looking for peoplewho run groups, communities,
online summits, that are lookingfor speakers or participants
right, and sometimes, often,what you're looking for is going
to change, and so it'simportant that you have a way to
communicate that to the peoplewho are in your network so that
they know specifically what youare looking for and how to
(09:40):
introduce you in a non-salesyway.
The other thing is, you want tomake it as easy as possible for
people to refer you.
I was working with anothermember of the Powerful Women
Rising community on a handoutthat she is going to give to
medical providers that shepartners with because she's a
health and wellness coach, andwe created this pamphlet or this
(10:02):
brochure whatever you want tocall it so that she can give it
to these medical providers as asimple way for them to refer
people to her.
They don't have to remember oh,I think she does that.
Oh, I think she does that.
Oh well, I don't know if shehelps people with that, it's all
right there on the paper.
All they have to do is be ableto identify the person that
could be helped by her servicesand give them the paper.
(10:26):
That's it.
So the easier you make it forpeople to refer you or to
provide value to you in someother way, the more likely it is
that they are going to do it.
I also noticed recently.
I have a friend who also owns abusiness and she has been
posting maybe once a month oronce every other month on
(10:46):
different social media channelsasking for connections, for
speaking opportunities, veryspecifically in her post.
This is what my expertise is.
If you know people who wouldbenefit from having a speaker on
this topic, here's how you canconnect me right.
(11:06):
So tell people more than oncewhat it is that you're looking
for, how they can help you, waysthat they can provide value for
you and make it as easy forthem as possible, and I think
you are going to start gettingbetter results.
Also, remember there was a daythat you weren't that amazing at
networking either.
So people need guidance andthey need your grace.
(11:28):
I like to always assume thebest intentions of people.
I also want to remind you thatnetworking is a long game.
This is one of the reasons that, when I started this business,
there were several quote unquoteexperts who told me it was not
going to work and it was notgoing to sell, because people,
(11:49):
especially business owners,especially those who aren't
making consistent income, want aquick win.
Right, we want the thing thatsays I'll teach you how to make
six figures in 90 minutes.
Who doesn't want to make sixfigures in 90 minutes?
And then there's me.
I'm like networking takes along time, but it pays off,
trust me.
(12:09):
Let's just do it for some yearsand you'll find out right.
That is not sexy.
That is likely not going tosell.
Good thing, I talk about it ina way that is not that sad.
But it is important to rememberthat the long game pays off.
This is why I say networking isone of the most sustainable
business strategies that thereis, because it is always
(12:32):
compounding over time as long asyou keep doing it.
I know that it's exhausting whenit feels one-sided, but
stopping is not the solution.
The more you practice, theeasier it becomes.
It's no longer something thatyou track or something that you
resent.
For me, providing value toother people has become second
nature.
I don't often even think aboutit when I'm doing it.
(12:54):
I just naturally haveconversations, thinking who do I
need to connect this person to?
Or I listen to a podcast orread a blog post and I just
automatically think who couldbenefit from hearing this and I
take two seconds to forward iton.
So when you reach the pointwhere providing value is second
nature, it becomes much easierand more powerful, because
(13:18):
instead of thinking who's doingsomething for me, you just keep
thinking how can I keep being avaluable connector?
You get to feel that joywithout any attachment to the
outcome, and I guarantee youthat in the long run, it does
pay off for your business.
Now, the last thing I want toadd, as a little asterisk
(13:38):
disclaimer before we wrap up, isthat sometimes you do have to
reevaluate your networkingstrategy.
You do have to ask yourselfsometimes am I networking in the
right places?
Am I putting effort into theright relationships?
Am I surrounding myself withthe right people, or am I in
groups that don't align with myvalues?
(13:59):
Does it feel like thecommunities that I'm in are more
transactional and self-serving?
Am I giving to people whoclearly don't reciprocate and
never will?
Am I networking in places whereno one understands the value of
what I do, no matter how manydifferent ways I try to explain
it?
If so, it might be time toshift your efforts, and
(14:20):
sometimes it can be hard to tellthe difference between when you
need to make some changes andwhen you need to just stick it
out and trust that it's gonnapay off in the long run.
If you haven't listened toepisode 89 of the Powerful Wind
Rising podcast or maybe youhaven't listened to it recently
I would definitely check it out.
That is an episode I recordedat the end of 2024 about
(14:40):
reevaluating your networkingstrategy for the year, and it's
important that we take timeperiodically to evaluate what
we're doing in the networkingworld to make sure that we are
putting our time and energy inthe right places.
So a few reminders before wewrap up.
Networking does work.
It just doesn't always work onyour timeline or in the ways
(15:00):
that you expect.
It's okay to feel frustrated anddefeated sometimes.
I don't know any entrepreneurwho doesn't feel frustrated and
defeated sometimes.
Just keep coming back to theperson that you want to be, the
business that you want to have,the impact that you want to
create and the life that youwant to live.
When you focus on those things,you will see that networking,
(15:22):
that creating authenticconnections and real
relationships, is how you wantto build your business.
You, I know, are aheart-centered entrepreneur.
You don't want to build abusiness in a transactional way
and if you try, it's not goingto feel good to you, so stick
with it.
Remember that people might bedoing work for you that you
(15:46):
can't see, and just because youcan't see it doesn't mean it's
not happening.
Also, remember that sometimesreferrals and opportunities take
months or years to surface, andthat you have to teach people
the best way to support you aspart of your network.
Be vocal about what you need.
Sometimes people don't knowunless you tell them.
So I have two little homeworkassignments for you today.
(16:08):
One I want you to ask yourselfwho in your network might
already be doing things for youwithout you even realizing.
And the second thing I want youto do is to reach out to
someone in your network todayand ask how can I support you
right now without expectinganything return?
If you continue to do those twothings consistently, you will
(16:31):
see that networking works andthat it feels good.
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